Top Dog
by BadGirlwithsomeRetroSneakers
Summary: James is the alpha of the males. Lily; the alpha of the females. The two are in constant heat-just not with each other. How will James-the head of the boys- convince Lily to submit to his domination and finally claim victory for his trampled pack of men.
1. The Alpha and James Potter

Hey guys,

this isn't actually my first published fic on this website, but it is my first of Lily/James. I'm a newbie to writing their ship- but this idea popped into my head and I had to write it down.

**Warning before I proceed;**

**The rating for this fiction is M. This fanfiction will contain scenes of a sexual nature and sexual language. It will mostly be concerned with the sexual heat between James and Lily and whilst I do not intend for it to be extremely graphic- the language and dialogue may make some uncomfortable. **

**If you believe this is the case for you, then please hit the back button. I do not wish to offend anyone without warning them first.**

I've intended for this to be a multi-chap fic, but I won't continue it if nobody wants me to! I know how strict us HP fans are and I wouldn't like to write something that nobody wanted to read- so please review and let me know what you think!

Otherwise, thank you for reading and your support.

I would like to cite Morrisburger as my muse for this fanfic. Her stories are truly beautiful and well worth a read.

Love to all,

BGWSRS.

I do not own Harry Potter

* * *

"Alright there, sweetheart?"

The tall, muscled boy ran his hands through his hair as he eyed the red headed beauty lying gracefully on their common room couch.

"Not too bad, sexy, how's yourself?" came the girl's reply; her lips pursed as she raised her eyebrows at him suggestively.

"Oh, you know me, wandering along being my usual gorgeous self," the Head Boy replied, moving closer to the couch to lean his arms boldly on the edge, making sure to roll his sleeves up to give the girl a good show of his forearms.

"That you are," she said in a low voice, her eyes trailing appreciatively over his exposed skin, before coming back up to meet his own.

Hazel on green. Fire on fire.

"Padfoot tells me you've been toying around with that prat Masterson recently," he said leaning closer to her; becoming entrapped in her atmosphere. She smelt of mint.

She chuckled dangerously.

"Hmmmm.....he's good with his hands," the girl reminisced, stretching languidly on the couch making sure that her skirt rode up her thighs generously.

He glanced down her stripped pins, taking as long as he liked to lust after the dull sheen that dragged across her curvy legs.

His eyes met hers again.

"Jealous, Potter?"

He leant closer; the mint intensified, her eyes shone dangerously as the boy took in her deliciously full lips.

"You _know_ I am," he replied passionately, grinding his feet into the floor to stop himself from throwing himself on top of her licentious curves. He wasn't one of her play things that she could provoke into pleasuring her with a simple bat of her eyelashes. That was what separated him from the others.

All the others.

She chuckled again and propped herself up on her elbows and leant forward towards him. He did not miss the way her chest strained against her blouse, thinking fondly of the day when he would be able to tear the bloody thing apart. She always wore the damn shirt two sizes too small.

"What do you say, Evans? Would you like to graduate to a real man, or do you still insist upon stealing your victim's virginity?"

He grinned again, seeing the slight jibe seek into her elegant features. God, he loved that pout.

It was replaced quickly by a smirk. She wasn't one of his many bimbo whores who were on her knees for him as soon as he clicked his fingers. She _never_ gave in. That was what made her different from the others.

The numerous others.

She shrugged her shoulders bashfully, though the motion was ruined by the feral look gracing her face.

"I like them fresh."

He laughed aloud.

To the inexperienced boys of Hogwarts, Lily Evans was a Goddess.

"It's where we're headed, Evans- everyone knows it."

Another vicious smile.

"Then what's wrong with the wait? I find delayed gratification to be so much more....._satisfying_."

A growl.

"I'm _sick_ of waiting."

"Oh, does poor baby Potter want his treat now?" she said, pouting and pushing herself up further to come level with his lustful stare, her eyes lidded heavily.

He couldn't help but glance downwards. He wondered if he could persuade that first button to pop with his mind.

He buried his head in her hair, revelling in the scent and holding back a groan when he felt her smooth skin come into contract with his.

"I promise," he said lowly, grazing his lips against her neck, "that it would be _more_ than satisfying, Evans," he finished huskily, nipping her gently and biting back the urge to gnaw on her more when he heard her moan happily.

He opened his eyes to find the scent gone.

She was standing up and stretching whilst he appreciated the view from behind.

"Nice try, Potter. Better luck next time," the red head smirked, turning to walk out of the portrait, her luscious legs still drawing the boy's attention.

He grabbed her arm roughly, stopping her in her tracks. She didn't bother to look back.

"You'll be disappointed with Masterson, Evans. Don't forget us Quidditch boys shower together. I doubt he's even a six."

She turned to face him strongly and he was so entrapped in her gaze that he struggled to hold it together when her hand groped at his crotch.

"I don't think you should be talking so loudly, _seven_," she said grinning up at him happily after she had felt around enough. "And how many times, Potter. It's not how big it is; it's what you can do with it," she finished, winking sexily, before turning away again.

"Is that why you're still screwing Snivellous?" he asked cattily, his eyes glinting with success.

She laughed loudly, still walking away.

"Petty, Potter. Even for you," she called as she exited the room.

James snarled unhappily as he heard Sirius descend the dorm room steps.

"She still won't put out?"

"Oh, she will. Just for everyone but me."

Sirius laughed loudly, before throwing himself onto the same couch that Lily had occupied just moments before. James wouldn't deny that the view had been infinitely better before Padfoot's arrival. Acknowledging this he turned to leave.

"Where're you off to?"

"To find Angela."

"Ah, the staple 'I couldn't get Evan's so I'll get her' shag."

"Fuck off," he mumbled, traipsing his way out of the dorm room to find the girl who wasn't as curvy as Lily, but was far more beddable. Well, for him anyways.

* * *

"Prongs, her thighs aren't going to jump up and straddle you if you stare at them hard enough."

Shovelling some scrambled eggs into his mouth, James begrudgingly tore his gaze away from the tantalizing sight of Lily Evans in a short skirt. Pretending that she wasn't fawning over his prat of a keeper, he brightened slightly when he saw a gaggle of sixth year girls heading his way.

"Jamie!"

He smirked as he heard a girlish giggle echo from behind him.

"Patricia, baby," he said, winking at the blushing brunette over his shoulder and turning to pull her between his legs.

She giggled again as she squirmed in his arms.

Black bra under a white shirt.

He had to hand it to the girl. She knew how to get his attention.

"I missed you," she purred, her hands coming up to tug on his hair.

"The feelings all mutual, hot stuff. How about you drop by tonight and we get..._reacquainted?_"

Patricia shrieked delightedly. Beside him, James noticed Remus putting his hands over his ears.

After sending the eager girl on her way, and checking to see if her panties matched- they did- he turned back to his friends.

"Nice," Sirius smirked at him, as James gave him an appreciative nod.

"Didn't you shag her before?" Peter asked in admiration, still eyeing Patricia down the table.

"Nah, that was her sister," James replied nonchalantly, but still managing to wink at Sirius.

"Quite an accomplishment, Potter," came a low voice that made James want to thrust into the table. "Both the Patterson sisters. I'm sure no man has _ever_ accomplished that before," Lily said slyly, making her way past the table, hips swaying wantonly.

"You know, it could be you, gorgeous," James said as calmly as possible, removing his eyes from Lily's body long enough to notice that she had her hair pinned back. Her neck was exposed.

She had upped her game today.

The red-head laughed gently.

"Please, Potter. It _could_ be _you. _You say it as if you have a choice in the matter."

James didn't get the chance to reply, as he was cut off by a shy voice that made him want to pound his fist into the table.

"Er? Lily?"

"Oh, Vincent, darling!" Lily simpered, running her hands over the Gryffindor keeper's chest as James noticed that he was carrying her bag and her books as well as his own.

The boy's eyes shook nervously as she fawned over him. James rolled his own eyes. Amateur.

"W-w-where do you want these?" Vincent Masterson asked nervously, obviously trying to keep his eyes off of Lily's body.

"Hmmm....I don't know where I want those books," Lily sighed, batting her eyes at the boy. "But I know where I want you," she purred, biting her lip and pressing herself up against James's keeper. "My room. Ten minutes?"

Vincent looked like he was dying from anticipation. He nodded his head frantically.

"Masterson!" James barked forcefully, as the boy tore his eyes away from Lily unhappily. "We have practise in ten minutes."

"Er...." the boy stumbled out, looking between James and Lily.

Lily batted her eyelashes and lowered her eyelids. A small smile made its way onto Vincent's face.

"Masterson?" James bit out lowly.

Lily bit her lip, and threw her fingers into the boy's hair, twirling the ends of the blonde curls around her fingers.

"Masterson, you miss this practise, you're off the team," James snarled, unhappy that Lily was obviously winning.

The boy's eyes widened. Ha. That got his sodding attention.

Not even throwing James a glance, Lily's fingers graced the boy's cheek, pulling his gaze back to her. Slowly, she trailed her fingers down her neck and over her chest before finally pulling one of the buttons open.

She turned on her heel quickly and walked briskly out of the Great Hall, victory assured.

"S-s-sorry, James," Vincent stuttered not even looking at him as he grabbed the books and bolted out after her.

"Bloody hell, Prongs, we have a game on Saturday!" Sirius moaned, shoving his plate away from him.

"I know," James groaned unhappily, putting his head in his hands.

"Couldn't you just have let him shag her and be ten minutes late?" Sirius asked, as James grinned at Sirius's obvious joke.

"You do realise what you've done, don't you?" Remus asked, knowingly. James shook his head.

"You've given her ammunition. She'll be after everyone on the team now," his intelligent friend finished, as James gave in and finally did bang his fist of off the table.

"Goddammit! You're right. And she'll get them too."

"One can only hope," Sirius said, grinning slightly and looking towards the door.

James shot him a look.

Sirius chuckled lightly.

"Oh please, Prongs. You look as if it hasn't happened before."

"Don't remind me," James snarled. "Come on. We've got to go practise throwing Quaffles at an empty goal post."

* * *

"You know, you're not actually giving me a reason, Evans."

"I don't see the need to."

"You'd rather see me struggle unhappily along?"

"Amongst other things," she smirked; eyes still trained on the book and blazing alight in front of the common room fire.

"Pray...what would these other things be?"

"Oh...I don't know...I guess I could stand to see you shirtless."

"Heh...nice try. A privilege reserved only for the naked women found in my bed," James grinned, sidling closer to her with his arm around the back of the chair.

"Pity. I'll guess Sirius will have to do."

"Funny."

"No, Potter. Sexy as hell."

"You, me or him?"

"How about all three of us?"she asked cheekily, finally turning her gaze to meet his.

"I don't share, Evans."

"Hmmmm...little boys who don't learn to share usually end up with nothing at all."

"I was never fond of that idea. Generally, when I want something, _I take it_."

"I can see that that's worked out very well for you so far, Potter," Lily responded raising her eyebrows at him suggestively.

"I have a long-term plan," he stated cockily, stretching his arms behind his head and smirking when he noticed her checking out his muscles.

"Unhuh. So do I Potter. Unfortunately, it doesn't include you."

"Again...you're still not telling me _why_ Evans."

Neither of the pair had turned around to notice that quite a few amused Gryffindors had gathered behind them to watch the evening show. The muggleborns thought it was better than television.

Lily sighed and set down her book, turning to face him fully, and smirking when she noticed him gazing at her body with his mouth open.

"You really want to know?"

"I await with breath that is bated, Red."

From behind her Lily heard Marlene McKinnon whisper, "This is going to be good."

"Alright Potter. Here it is. We all know the reason that I won't screw you has nothing to do with your looks, so you can put your ego to bed happy. I have been known to attend the odd Quidditch game purely for the purposes of seeing you sweat, and trust me...if my draft picks were based purely on looks...you would have been first."

James smirked widely at the surrounding group which had now grown a little bigger. He noticed Patricia Patterson dawdling around somewhere, but he was too eager to hear this to give it up for some baby.

He congratulated himself. So far, so good.

"However...unfortunately for you, I don't pick my..._victims_, as you say, based on attractiveness. You should know this about me by now, Potter. I don't have sex for relationship purposes, I have it for _fun_. Therefore, my criteria for a mating partner is significantly different than any of the brainless models you have presenting you their backside on any given night."

A small part of James was laughing intently. Only Lily Evans could make a talk about shagging sound like it was written by Bathilda Bagshot.

On the other hand, he did _not_ like where this was going.

"You have a reputation, Potter, as do I. Only the difference is that I _listen_ to what is said about you. I doubt you've even conversed properly with one of my conquests. Therefore, you have no idea whatsoever about what I am like in bed. I, on the other hand, am fully versed in the sexual prowess of Mister James Potter. I have listened. I have made my decision. I do not want you."

The group gasped collectively as James tried not to look too insulted. What had those girls been saying about him?

"Oh, don't look so put out, Potter," Lily laughed patronizingly. "No one has given you a bad report. At least not in their eyes. I remember they were all exactly the same; '_he threw me down on the bed, growling furiously with a hungry look in his eyes. As he descended upon me, my body trembled in pleasure when his hands clasped around my breasts and he thrust into me violently. I screamed in pleasure and pain as his movements grew more rapid. Feeling my peak coming, I called out his name as I came, his hardened member releasing into me as he, himself, groaned happily. Then he pulled out of me and I fell asleep in his arms.'_ Sound about right, girls?" Lily questioned the group, as the girls all nodded the affirmative.

James ignored this as he wondered _why_ she didn't want that. It sounded alright to him. Especially if he was doing it with Lily.

"Apologies, Potter, but that's not my type of sex," she said, giving him an apologetic look. "For one, I am _never_ on my back. Sound about right, boys?"

The boys all nodded, including Sirius, who James had just noticed.

"For another, all of the above tells me exactly what type of lover you are Potter. You like...leading with your favourite organ, shall we say. _I _on the other hand, happen to like....hands...fingers....tongues," she continued, grinning wickedly at the males in the group. "I don't like to come once. I like to come _many_ times. And I ._always_ .come. first. When I finish with a guy, he generally can't walk straight for three days. Never once have I ever heard a rendition of your escapades that involved anything other than your lower extremity. And I certainly don't have time to baby you and teach you how to satisfy a woman with your mouth." She sighed. "Potter...I am the dominant. You are the dominant. We both like to dominate. We both get off on it. If we were together, who would dominate? Either way, one of us ends up unsatisfied, and that is _definitely_ not my type of sex. You would end up throwing me on my back and pounding into me, and I would end up kneeing you in the balls. It just wouldn't work, darling. I expect a lot from my men, which is why I get them young. Then they are trained. But you Potter? You're just too ingrained in your old ways to learn anything new. I could teach you a lot Potter, but I sincerely doubt that you are willing to learn. Sorry, sexy, but...well....we're just better off as we are. Trust me, you're a great warm up," Lily finished smiling slightly brushing him on the chin lightly, as James sat there gobsmacked.

"Speaking of which, Vincent is still chained to my bed. Enjoy Patricia tonight, Potter and don't worry. I'm sure I'm wonderful on my back in your imagination," she said as she parted, winking at him and licking her lips.

Seeing that the show was over, the group began to disperse, whispering of how James Potter had just got his ass handed to him by the hottest girl in school.

"Sorry mate," Sirius said sympathetically, clapping his hand on James's shoulder before wandering off somewhere. James was still too shocked to move.

Glancing up slightly, mouth still hanging open, he noticed Patricia standing there. Still dazed he mumbled, "Patricia?"

"No James!" she shrieked, as James understood now why Remus always covered his ears. "I deserve better than to be just tossed on my back and pounded into! I deserve _fingers_!" she finished, making a small _humph_ sound and crossing her arms, before stalking off.

James put his head in his hands. Two years of shagging only for his reputation to be sent down the drain by one girl. His equal if he was honest.

God...did she actually say...?

_I have made my decision. I do not want you._

The sharp realisation hit in. For the longest time James had just thought she was playing hard to get. After all, she was flirting with him and the chase turned him on. But she had actually meant it. She had actually shot him down.

He laughed wryly. If he hadn't have been so shocked he would have been rock hard. Hearing her say dirty words was possibly the most desirous thing he had ever heard.

Groaning, he threw himself back on the couch and lay down rubbing his temple.

Pfft. Didn't know what to do with his tongue. Utter rubbish. Just because he didn't partake in that particular activity didn't mean he didn't know what he was doing.

....His neck got sore.

And besides, his lack of attention to_ that_ area of sex didn't mean that his women left his bed any less satisfied. Evans had no clue what she was talking about. Only she had everyone believing that she did.

Shit.

Ugh. He'd have to starting building up his reputation again.

Well, no time like the present, he said to himself as he threw himself off the couch and went after Patricia.

He'd always liked taking girls up against the corridor wall in the fifth floor.

James smirked.

If..._When_ he finally got his way, as he always did, he'd have precious 'foreplay Evans' begging _on her knees _for him to take her there.

His smile grew wider.

James Potter was nothing else, if not resistant.


	2. A lily smells of?

James involuntarily wolf-whistled. It was a force of habit where Evan's was concerned.

"Very nice, Evans," he said appreciatively, letting his eyes trail over the lingerie clad girl.

She chuckled happily as she appraised herself in the full length mirror of her Head Girl dorm room.

"Why, thank you Potter," she purred deliciously. "I like to think so."

"I gotta say the emerald's really doing it for me, babe," he said huskily, admiring the silk corset ensemble complete with suspenders.

"One does what one can to please," she said smirking sexily, before making her way over to sit at her white wood dressing table. Still staring at him through the mirror, she never broke her gaze whilst she dipped her graceful fingers into an open drawer and pulled out a large wooden box filled with different coloured glass vials.

James made his way over to her and knelt behind her, his head on her shoulder, drinking her in.

"Cherry....it smells good on you, Evans."

"Everything does, Potter."

"Tell me, Red, does any guy ever get to smell the real you?"

She picked out a little red vial and began to dab the sweet cherry scent over her shoulders and neck.

"I have yet to meet one that deserves to."

"No doubt, Evans.....so Masterson was mint, huh?"

"Men function purely on scent, Potter. All I have to do is select the right scent for the right gentleman. If I get it right, it makes them so much more....._willing_."

James laughed aloud.

"So, tell me Evans- who is cherry boy?"

"Knock, knock," came an all too familiar voice from the doorway. James grimaced.

"Sirius, baby, you're early," Lily pouted huskily, practically shoving James off her in order to get to the most eligible Black. "You've spoilt the surprise."

Sirius chuckled deeply, wrapping his arms around the red-head.

"I sincerely doubt I've spoilt anything, gorgeous. How about we skip dinner altogether? I'm sure you're much more delicious anyways," he growled, beginning to kiss her neck.

Lily pulled herself out of his arms, tutting him slightly.

"You act as if I have no class, Black," she said smirking and walking away from him. James rolled his eyes as he saw Sirius's eyes trail up and down Lily's retreating figure.

"Is that how I sounded? Forgive me, darling. I was merely distracted. I must admit you smell absolutely divine tonight."

Lily turned to James and gave him a knowing look.

After pulling on a short black dress and heels, Lily made her way over to Sirius.

"Flattery, Mr. Black, will get you...._everywhere_," she said dangerously, linking her arm with Sirius. "Now come on, the chocolate soufflé won't wait forever."

"Chocolate soufflé?"

"Mmmm," Lily purred, pulling him out of the room by his tie. "I hear it goes excellently with _cherry_."

Ignoring the fact that Sirius had been practically groping Lily as they made their way out of the room, James followed them down to the common room and threw himself on the couch, taking a few moments to notice that Remus was reading quietly on the chair beside him.

"If you want him to stop you should just ask him. He would, you know," Remus drawled not even bothering to look up from his book.

James said nothing.

"But, of course," Remus sighed. "You won't say anything because you don't want her to know she's getting to you."

"Please," James scoffed. "It's only Padfoot. Besides, what difference does one more guy make? Either way, it means she has him _trained_ as she says. I wouldn't do that to myself, no matter what kind of perfume she wears."

"Sirius seems to think she's worth keeping around. She's probably the only girl he's slept with more than once."

"He gets bored easily," James replied scathingly. "He'll get bored of her soon, too," he went on, ignoring the small voice in his head saying that it had been six months and Sirius hadn't gotten tired of her yet.

"Maybe," Remus responded wisely. "Or, you could just ask him to end it, and stop moping around."

"Even if Sirius did stop, she still wouldn't start with me. Or didn't you hear her two nights ago?" James spat in reminiscence.

"I don't see why you're still upset about that," Remus began, finally setting down his book. "Hardly anyone remembers it, and you've bedded what? Three girls in the past two days. Or was it four?" he went on, sounding thoroughly disinterested.

"Three," James corrected his friend. "But that's hardly the point. _I still haven't gotten her_," he said angrily to himself, feeling the same sensation of losing a Quidditch game wash over him.

"She's your white whale," Remus chuckled.

"What?"

"Nothing. Muggle reference."

"What am I going to do, Moony? I refuse to lose to this woman. It will bug me for the rest of my life," James said dramatically, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Have you ever read _The Art of War_, James?" Remus asked, throwing James for a second.

"Moony, generally, most questions that start with 'have you ever read' are usually pointless to ask me."

"Indeed, Prongs. However, I feel it could help you in this particular scenario."

"Care to give me a synopsis?" James asked as nicely as he could.

Remus rolled his eyes.

"_If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will always endanger yourself_," the lycanthrope quoted, as James pondered the meaning of the words. "You know yourself quite well, James. But as Lily pointed out the other night, you know nothing about her. That is why you are failing to win her over. However, she knows everything about you. As she demonstrated quite successfully two nights ago. That is why she is constantly winning. If you want to know her in bed, you are going to have to know her outside of it too. Luckily for you, she has already provided you with a suitable amount of information on herself."

"She has?"

Remus rolled his eyes again. James wondered whether he ever got sick of doing that around himself and Sirius.

"Yes, indeed, she has James. You obviously heard what she said the other night or you wouldn't be so upset, but did you actually think about what any of it could mean?"

"Well, it means that she likes to be on top...really, Moony, if you keep rolling your eyes like that, they're going to get stuck that way."

"She likes to be on top," Remus said with a sigh, "can't you think of anything more intelligent than that?"

James thought about it.

"Well, Lily said that she didn't want me because....well, because I exactly the same as her- aside from a few finer points."

"Well done, Prongs."

"Thank you, Professor Moony."

"Listen, if you want to get Lily to sleep with you, you are going to have to change your 'technique' so to speak, because she's right. You two are exactly the same and it's not going to work that way James. At least not in her eyes."

"So basically, she wants me to be on the bottom."

"Amongst other things, yes."

"I don't know if I can do that Moony. As much as I don't mind giving the ladies a little go on top- I prefer to...finish the other way."

"Would it really kill you to spend an evening on your back?"

"With her...yes."

Remus sighed.

"She's very shrewd, James. She's figured you out pretty good. Lily knows that she is the one you want to dominate most of all."

"Pfft. Slughorn could've figured that one out, Moony."

"Probably, but it still all comes down to one thing. _Lily does not want to be dominated._ You are never going to get anywhere if you insist upon making her..."

"Get on her knees?"

"Yes...that."

"So, really- what you're saying is...I should change my tactics?"

"No wonder you're Quidditch Captain. Yes, Prongs. I am suggesting that you should try to woo her by different means."

"And those would be?"

"You could let her know that you're not so indifferent to the idea of...giving into her."

"I could trick her," James said with a calculated look on his face. "I could get her so worked up that eventually when I flip her over she won't notice!"

"That's not exactly what I meant, James...."

"Moony! You're a genius!" James said ecstatically, before bouncing off to his dorm room.

"Where're you going?"

"To plot Evan's demise!"

There was silence.

"Why does no one ever listen to me?"

"Don't feel too bad, Moony," came Peter's voice, as Remus jumped. "No one ever even notices I'm here."

"Sorry, Pete," said Remus, feeling slightly guilty.

"Don't worry about it. This is going to end badly, isn't it Remus?"

"Yes, it is Peter. Yes, it is."

* * *

"Eh....Prongs?"

James was sitting in the library pretending to study whilst he looked up this _art of war_ book when he noticed Sirius standing beside him looking very sheepish.

"What's up, Padfoot?"

"I-I-I'm not going to be able to make it to practise today."

"What?!" James yelped, jumping up to face Sirius and pushing his arm forcefully. He noticed Sirius winced rather painfully. "Oh, come on Padfoot! You're made of stronger stuff than this, buddy!"

"Sorry, Prongs. She was pretty rough last night. I doubt I could sit on a broom, much less fly on one."

James gave him a look.

"Prongs, don't look at me like that," Sirius pleaded, producing the puppy dog eyes. "You don't know what it's like!"

"Thank you for the reminder, Padfoot. But as you so painfully reminded me, _we have a game on Saturday!_"

"Trust me! I'll be ship shape and Bristol fashion by then, Prongsie old buddy! You can count on me!"

"Just not today."

"Eh, yea. Sorry...again."

"You stay away from Evans until after the game, right?"

"Cross my heart and hope to lose my favourite lower organ, Prongs."

* * *

"YOU!"

"Sexy....what's wrong? You look tense. Come here, let me _release the strain_."

"Don't try that on me, you red-headed witch! You've practically ruined my Quidditch team!"

"As far as I'm aware Potter, they all walked quite willingly to their death."

"You're funny, Evans, I gotta give you that. Everyone knows what tricks you employ to scrounge up the poor, unsuspecting boys of Hogwarts. Have you no house pride?! Couldn't you have kept away from the team for one week?! Thanks to you, I've lost a beater and a keeper!"

"Care to lose a Chaser as well?"

"Don't start that, if you even think........what?"

"I've changed my mind, Potter. In fact, I'm quite glad I have. You look pretty sexy all riled up like this. How about it? _Wanna be the first guy to make me come on my back?_" she whispered, her green eyes pouring into his.

In a shot, James had her pinned against the wall, arms in the air and was leaning in for the kill.

....

She turned her head.

"See what I mean, Potter?" she smirked. "Willingly to their death..."

Disengaging herself from a frozen, enraged James, Lily hummed a little tune to herself as she made her way out of the common room.

He really made it too easy for her.

* * *

Marlene sighed. Really, this was getting ridiculous.

Obviously, she loved Lily. Like a sister, if she was honest. Therefore, she put up with her various....nefarious activities. The same way that Lily put up with the fact that she had to have her quills all clipped to the same height.

But really...Marlene didn't like to see people getting hurt. And she felt quite bad, seeing James Potter throwing himself around a Quidditch pitch like his life depended on it when Lily was plotting the demise of every single boy on the team. Especially, when her fellow chaser was resorting to desperate means to keep the boys away from her best friend.

Marlene had heard rumours of STDs.

She chuckled a little inwardly. Marlene doubted that that would keep the boys of Hogwarts away from Lily Evans.

Trudging in from Quidditch Practise, Marlene decided she would shower in the dorms....after a quick stop off to the Head's rooms.

"Merlin, Lily. Who is _that_ for?" Marlene asked incredulously, eyeing the purple leather number hanging off of Lily's closet.

"I haven't decided yet, Marly," Lily called from the bathroom. "Who do you think will like it best? Jenkins or Lloyd? Actually, I might try it on Black- it would absolutely _kill_ Potter if I got him twice in the space of two days!" Lily went on, appearing from the bathroom with a positively vicious look on her face. "Merlin, Marly, couldn't you have showered before you came in?" she asked, holding her nose in disgust. "You'll kill off all my action," the Head Girl finished, with a wink.

Really, the Head Girl's dorms had been given possibly the biggest make-over it had had in one hundred years since the arrival of Lily Evans.

Japanese paper umbrellas and fans were clustered on the walls, whilst all the furniture had been transfigured to white wood. A number of feather boas- which Marlene doubted that Lily actually used were scattered around the room- hanging off of her four poster and her dressers. On her dressing table there were numerous vials and bottles which left the tender Miss. McKinnon confused as to how her best friend kept replenishing her stock. Eventually, Marlene came to the conclusion that Lily made up her beauty charms herself using her potions kit. Finally, there was the infamous 'little red closet'. Boys dreamed of seeing the things that Lily Evans kept in that closet. Marlene didn't dare to look.

Eyeing the vials of scent that were currently held in a carved wooden box, Marlene gazed over the plethora of perfume that she often smelt on her friend. Generally, Marlene could tell who Lily had spent the night before with by smelling her perfume.

"This one new?" she asked Lily- picking up the light purple vial in her hand. She almost dropped it as she eyed the label.

'POTTER', it read.

Lily laughed upon seeing Marlene's reaction.

"I doubt I'll ever have to use it, Marly- but...I thought I'd be prepared- just in case," Lily answered with a smirk.

Pulling the cork top off the vial, Marlene inhaled the oily liquid.

"Lilac?"

"Mmmm."

"Why lilac?"

"Heavy scent- stays on for days. If I ever do let Potter into the Forbidden Garden, I want to make sure he _never_ forgets it."

"Is that all?" Marlene asked, thinking that surely some other equally potent herb could have accomplished the task.

"...It's the closest scent I can get to a Lily. You know I'd never let a man smell Lily on me- too cliché, but...like I said- if Potter ever _does_ manage to persuade me...I suppose he deserves a reward," Lily finished with a small smile, tinkering with her purple lingerie. "So, Marly," she asked, holding the garment up for her friend to see, "Jenkins or Lloyd?"

"Lily, darling, dearest, oh-bestest-friend-o'-mine?" Marlene pleaded, as nicely as she could, bouncing over to sit on Lily's bed.

"What do you want?" Lily asked suspiciously, dropping the lingerie.

"This is _just_ a thought- but how about....not sabotaging the Gryffindor team? For me, Lily!" Marlene added quickly, seeing her friends shocked expression. "I'd really rather like to win."

Lily sighed and pursed her lips thoughtfully, obviously weighing up the pros and cons.

Marlene rubbed her eyes and threw her last bargaining chip on the table.

"You can have Remus."

"You must really want to win if you're offering Lupin up as the prize," Lily offered bemusedly.

"I do. Plus, think of how much _more_ it would annoy James if you got Remus. It would annoy him much more than the Quidditch thing by far!"

Lily came to sit down on the bed beside her.

"Marly," she said kindly, putting her arm around the girl. "I'm not going to go after Remus," she went on, pinching Marlene on the nose. "I _know_ you like him. Plus- he'd never succumb anyway. He's too loyal to Potter. I'm ashamed to say that he's probably the one boy I could never get," Lily chuckled, as Marlene breathed an inner sigh of relief.

Lily got up again, biting her lip as she went over to her dressing table.

"I won't go after the Quidditch team," she said finally, throwing Marlene a small smile. "As much as I'd like to piss off Potter, I'd rather see you win."

"Thank you, Lils," Marlene said happily, thinking that generally, if they could get through this weekend, everything would be alright. "But surely you haven't given up on annoying Potter? I know you, Lils. You would have never consented to leaving the team alone, if you didn't have a plan B."

Lily chuckled dangerously.

"Oh but I do," she said, smirking and now brushing her red curls luxuriously.

"_Lilyyyy_," Marlene pleaded, feeling an incredible sense of dread, as Lily had confided in Marlene previously as to who her trump card was.

"I'm sorry, Marly, but Potter's right when he says I have no house pride. I'm not at all interested in this ridiculous competition between Gryffindor and Slytherin," she began matter-of-factly, before her face transformed into a sneaky grin. "Besides, I think it's time for a _renewal_ of relations between the two houses, don't you Marly?"

Marlene groaned.

"He's_ fifth_ year, Lily!"

"He's an old fifth year, Marly. Sixteen."

"Sirius will never speak to you again, you do realise? You're practically declaring war for him."

"Marly, I love Sirius, I really do. And he'll come around in the end...with the _right_ persuasion."

"Fine. You're probably right. But explain to me how sleeping with _Regulus_ is going annoy James?"

"Oh, Marly," Lily chuckled lowly. "Think about it. He's Slytherin. He's basically his mortal enemy, bar Severus. It works on sooooo many levels."

"Can't you just sleep with Severus again, Lils?"

Lily shot her the most furious look Marlene had ever seen.

"Sorry," she said meekly. "I won't bring it up again."

Lily nodded in consent, and continued to brush her hair.

"You think Regulus'll do it? He's a pureblood maniac after all."

"He's also a teenage boy," Lily said smirking whilst pulling out a vial that Marlene was pretty sure contained the scent of Blackberry. "Trust me; his hormones will kick in before his morals do," she sang, shaking the vial happily.

* * *

Hey guys-

thank you **soooooooooo** much for your reviews for the last chapter! I'm glad you all enjoyed- trust me- your reviews made me write faster!!!

A lot of people also alerted- please take the time to review- seriously, it makes everything worthwhile!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter- the next one shouldn't be too long away!

BGWSRS


	3. Money makes the world go round

**Hello all! **

**I've updated sooner than I thought I would but I got a night off work tonight so I found time to write! Woohoo! lol**

**Just a quick note on the story as I see it- particularly Lily.**

**I'm kind of aware that most people who read this story are probably going to be female. Maybe I'm wrong but I don't really see fanfic as a guys thing. Either way, so far I've only received one review saying Lily's a whore or something of that nature- and I'm actually kind of surprised. To be honest I'd expected more! lol. But I knew that's what I was setting her up for when I started characterising her like this. But I will say that I'm actually okay with people thinking that about her character because as much as I love Lily, I want to portray her as I see her and that's a bit like Sarah Jessica Parker's character in Cruel Intentions. For this fanfic anyways. I personally don't see her as a slut because I kind of take the hippie view of sex- and I do think that had more men been reading this I would have gotten tonnes more reviews calling her a slut, but either way I don't really tend to bond anymore to ideas of Lily as a virginial flower who had never been with anyone other than James. And whilst I know it is possible for her to be sexually active before James but not to the extent that I am writing it, I just wanted to explore this form of her characterisation.  
**

**Which brings me onto my next point- lol- long authors note, but I'd like to get this out of the way. I have also been asked about lily's characterization so I'm gonna talk about it here. **

**As far as I'm concerned JK has never written a proper explorative prequel to Harry Potter. We get a couple of glimpes of Lily- one when she is sixteen, one when she is seventeen and then when Voldermort came for Harry. I don't honestly think that any of these are enough to qualify her character. Therefore I don't believe in the phrase OOC when it comes to Lily or James. As Sirius wisely points out- people grow up and change. We don't see Lily falling in love with James; marrying him; having Harry, realising she is marked. About all of the most important character defining moments in her life have been left out. So, whilst I do think that t is extremely unlikely that JK would write Lily like I am, I don't think that it is going agaisnt her character to give her this personality. Because in my opinion her actual all rounded character doesn't exist. Which is why I find LJ fanfics so effective- because there is so much scope. It is so much less restricting than other HP pairings because we actually see nothing significantly romantic when it comes to the pair of them. I'm actually kind of grateful to JK for that! Makes writing so much more interesting.  
**

**Finally, I will say that whilst Lily's characterization here will not change- as I think it would defeat the premise of the story I've set out to write- you will see more of why she has that particular personality. Why she acts the way she does etc... **

**So hopefully that will help in reading the rest of the story. I welcome all reviews telling me what you think about the story- except flames, lol! I got 15 alerts for the last chapter and 6 reviews! Very grateful for my six reviews but I'd love to have gotten 15! lol- so I wanna say I won't update again unless I get 10 reviews, but that's a lie. However, 10 reviews would make me update faster- it has to be said! **

**Thanks for reading as always, it really does mean a lot to me!**

**Hope you all enjoy!**

**BGWSRS**

* * *

Other than hexing Snivellous, and watching Lily from behind as she walked- there was nothing James Potter loved to do more than strut.

And right now- he had the best of all reasons to strut his irresistible backside into the Great Hall.

They had won.

Gryffindor had won.

They had handed Hufflepuff their asses on a shiny red and gold platter.

Shoving the doors to the Great Hall open, James surveyed the Hogwarts masses all sitting and enjoying their Saturday dinner.

Smiling cheekily, he didn't fight at all to keep the smug lip curl he was known for off of his face when the Gryffindor table erupted into cheers.

_Yes people, you may worship me. _

With his usual accentuated swagger, James strode into the Hall, and plonked himself down in front of Remus and beside Peter who were all too used to this spectacle by now to even bat an eyelid. Waiting for his trusty beater to take station opposite him- which he eventually did after chatting up some nondescript sixth year- James pulled the roast chicken to his plate and tried not to look around too obviously for Lily to see what her reaction was.

"She's not here," came Remus's voice, as James remembered that he could never do anything inconspicuously when it came to Evans.

James heart sank slightly.

He opened his mouth to ask...

"And no, Prongs, she didn't come to the game either," Remus answered again for him, as James remembered that he could never do anything unpredictable when it came to Evans.

Deciding that he'd recount his twentieth goal to Evans when he found her after dinner, James looked around the Great Hall to see who else might be admiring him.

Just because he had planned Evans's demise down to the last bit of red lacy undergarment, didn't mean that he couldn't see what else Hogwarts was offering for him tonight, courtesy of his latest spectacular victory of course.

He was distracted however when he noticed that there was some sort of commotion over at the Slytherin table. Several boys were all looking extremely put out whilst he could hear some girls vigorously shouting 'slut' and 'whore' at various different intervals.

"What do you thinks' got them all riled up?" Sirius asked, with mild curiosity.

Suddenly, the whole hall jumped as the doors banged open with flair and Emmeline Vance came scurrying into the hall excitedly.

As she ran past the Marauders, James could hear her murmuring repeatedly to herself.

"Oh my God, oh my God, ooohhh my God!"

When she had obviously reached her destination- the whole hall now watching her with great interest- she practically leapt onto the Gryffindor bench and started whispering fervently to a group of girls- one of which included Marlene McKinnon, who James was fairly sure began to bang her head off of the table.

Everyone had begun to settle back into their dinner when there came another loud shriek._ This _time, from one of the girls Emmeline had been talking to.

"WHAT?!" she yelled, her eyes widened in horror.

"What the hell are they all talking about?" James hissed in annoyance. Couldn't they see that Gryffindor had just beaten Hufflepuff? How was _anything_ more important than that?!

James was just about ready to fling the roast chicken at somebody when_ another_ person slammed the Great Hall doors open.

Only this time, James was far more interested in the perpetrator.

It was Evans.

And she looked bloody fantastic.

If she had missed the game just to put on _that_ little red dress, then James had no problem whatsoever- just as long as he was the one who got to take it off her later.

Strutting down the hall- James wasn't the only one-with every eye upon her, Lily took a seat quite demurely (although how she managed demure in a dress like that, James wasn't sure), at Sirius's side.

"Mademoiselle," Sirius said gracefully, pressing a quick kiss to Lily's hand.

No sooner had Lily sat down, than a gaggle of girls were storming around the five of them. Not that this was anything unusual for the Marauders- but this time they wanted to talk to Lily.

"Lily!" one particularly brave fifth year whispered. "Did you actually do it?!" she squeaked, excitedly.

"The answer is probably yes," Sirius replied, grinning wickedly at Lily.

"What he said," came Lily's response.

"OH MY GOD! SHE SAID YES! OH MY GOD!!!!"

Lily chuckled a little, beginning to pour herself some pumpkin juice.

The girls continued to chatter excitedly, when the whole hall was put to silence by a loud roar at the end of the hall.

All turned to look to see Garrick Goyle pinning Regulus Black by the neck to the wall, whilst Lucius Malfoy looked on in vicious satisfaction.

"Today has been quite a good day," Sirius said simply, lifting his gaze from the scene.

"The Slytherin's don't usually attack their own," Remus stated oddly, frowning as he surveyed the commotion.

"What do you reckon Regulus did?" Peter asked timidly.

No one ventured an answer until the same excited girl from before slid back up to them.

"What did he do?! Oh, I don't know?! Maybe they're just pissed off _majorly_, because LILY SLEPT WITH HIM!!!"

Between Remus dropping his knife and fork, Peter beginning to choke on his mouthful of food and Sirius spitting his pumpkin juice out all over the table, James barely had time to register the pure evil smirk that was gracing Lily's face as she continued to eat her dinner quite unperturbed. She hadn't even looked up from her plate.

The four all sat there listening to Lily eat- well the three did, until Remus decided to take pity on Peter by thumping on his back.

_That bitch. _

James decided on a course of patience. Sirius would devour her first- he would wait until later- when they were alone and he could really tear her to pieces.

_This_ was why she missed the Gryffindor game? To shag a Slytherin?!

A sixteen year old Slytherin?! She would ride that little prick all she wanted but she wouldn't touch him with a fifteen foot wand!

Caught up in his angry thoughts, James jumped in shock when Sirius gave a bark of laughter.

Turning to look at him in indignation, James felt his stomach twist in severe shock and confusion when Sirius pulled Lily's head towards him and _kissed her fully on the mouth. _

James saw Remus turn away in disgust when he witnessed what James had just seen-

Tongues.

Sirius pulled away, both himself and Lily smiling wickedly.

"Darling," he said with a feral smirk on his face, rubbing her face lovingly. "What did I do to deserve this?"

"Oh, nothing special, Sirius, baby," Lily answered batting her eyelashes. "Although you were particularly good this week," she said smiling suggestively and stroking his arms.

At the other end of the hall, James witnessed the Slytherin boys taking various different chances at whipping Regulus whilst Severus Snape sat sulkily at the end of the table.

After giving Lily another quick kiss Sirius hopped off the bench.

" 'Scuse me, gents," he said to them all cheekily. "Business needs must," he added before striding down to the bottom of the hall.

James was about to start on Lily when he was interrupted by a loud roar.

"REGULUS!" Sirius yelled unceremoniously, piling through the line of Slytherins and grabbing his brother by the collar.

"Cannot express how proud I am of you, m'boy!" he said loudly, pulling the disgruntled boy into a headlock and rubbing his hair vigorously. "Popping your cherry to the hottest girl in school, Reg! You're a man now! Congrats! And a half blood too," he added, before yelling down to Lily, "ain't that right darling?"

"Mudblood, actually, cutie!" Lily replied, smiling down at the pair and blowing Regulus a kiss.

"_That's right!_" Sirius went on meaningfully. "A muggleborn, too Regie! I'm so happy you've given up on that imperialist crap! Mother will be so proud!"

After several failed attempts to disengage himself from Sirius, a thoroughly red faced Regulus bolted out of the hall.

"REGIE!" Sirius yelled, running out after him with a huge grin on his face. "COME BACK! YOU DIDN'T EVEN TELL ME HOW LONG YOU LASTED FOR!"

* * *

"You're actually okay with this?" James asked Sirius incredulously, as they sat in the Head's common room in front of a roaring fire, later that evening.

Lily was out devouring some minor.

"Course I am!" Sirius replied happily. "Mum'll kill him. And I don't mean just literally. Everyone in the whole bloody school knows who his first shag was. He's basically committed pureblood social suicide."

"_He's your brother!"_

"Oh please; rule number one of shagging Lily- leave your morals behind."

"I don't care what you say, Padfoot. If this was some other girl who'd just fucked your brother, you'd have kicked her to the curb faster than Peter can prematurely ejaculate."

"Thank you," Remus said dryly, looking up from his essay.

"True point, Prongsie. But it's _not_ some other girl. It's Evans," Sirius said quite simply.

"She's really worth all that, huh?" James asked begrudgingly, already knowing the answer.

"And then some, Prongs. She's the true femme fatale," his best friend said grinning immorally.

James sighed unhappily.

"Oh cheer up, mate! Moony's been telling me that you have a plan."

"If I tell you, you'll just poke holes in it."

"Exactly. Now proceed."

James considered.

"Well, Moony and I were talking about how she isn't going to give in unless _I_ give her a good enough reason to..."

"True point."

"So we..."

"You," came Remus's sharp voice as James rolled his eyes.

"So I decided that I should just give into her until I can convince her to...see the benefits of _my position_," James finished, grinning at Sirius.

Sirius's face remained thoughtful; his lips pursued as he studied James like some sort of interesting insect.

"She's not going to fall for that," Sirius said finally, in a very matter-of-fact manner.

"Why not?" James asked defensively. "She's been dying for some excuse to humiliate me...you saw it with the whole Regulus thing...this gives her the exact opportunity she's been looking for."

"Prongs, the two of you have been at this game since the beginning of sixth year," Sirius began with a sigh. "She's not going to believe that all of a sudden you've just jumped up and changed your mind. She's smarter than you give her credit for."

"I know she's smart, Padfoot, believe me. She's a bloody she-devil when it comes to conniving, but she also loves to win."

"But it's not what she loves the most," Sirius said wisely, examining his nails with a mild interest.

"How does that matter?"

"Because, she'd be willing to put whatever she loves most above winning. And that's what you want. You are only going to get her to lose if you get her to stop wanting to win, Prongs."

"Well, what does she love the most then?" James asked with slight exasperation. He was constantly going in circles when it came to Evans.

Sirius chuckled.

"You've been competing with her for so long, you've forgotten the one thing she is above all others- before being your competitor."

"Will you stop talking in bloody riddles and tell me, Padfoot!"

"_A woman _Prongs. Evans's is a woman," Sirius said meaningfully through a smirk as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

...

Which it was.

James snorted.

"I hardly think I'd forgotten that, Padfoot. Do you think I'd be after her if she was anything else?" James asked sarcastically. "Don't answer that," he added quickly, seeing the widening smirk on Sirius's face.

"Here's what I'm trying to get at, Prongs, m'boy," Sirius began, folding his arms behind his head and lying back on the arm rest. "You've stopped trying to woo Lily and started trying to beat her. And that's not going to get you anywhere. Evans's is a woman. She likes to be flattered. Wined and dined, if you will. Why do you think every guy she goes out with is forced to take her out to dinner first? Buy her trinkets to fill that little red closet enough so that it won't close? You don't think she's honestly buying all that stuff herself, do you? Lily won't sleep with you because you bring nothing to the table that she hasn't gotten before," he finished, as James took in everything that Sirius had said. Maddeningly, it made sense.

"I don't see why you're worried, Prongs," Sirius went on, easily, studying his best friend's expression. "You're not bringing anything new to the table _at the moment_. You've got plenty to bring her...trust me," he added wickedly.

"Like what?" James asked dumbly, clearing his throat.

Sirius rolled his eyes. James was actually thinking about making the gesture the trademark of the Marauders before abandoning the idea assuming that Peter couldn't pull it off properly.

"Prongs, why does every guy in school envy you?"

"Because I'm ridiculously good-looking?"

"Nope."

"Because I can get any girl I want...just about..?"

"Nada."

"Because I am so brilliant at Quidditch?"

"Merlin, Padfoot, was this supposed to turn into a 'Why James Potter is Wonderful' speech?" Remus asked irritably, as James and Sirius looked at Remus sheepishly.

Moony was really quite scary when riled up.

"Just tell him why!" he said exasperatedly, before adding a 'bloody hell' under his breath at the end.

Mutedly, Sirius nodded, turning back to James with a slightly amused look on his face.

"Every guy envies you because, you, Sir Prongsie, are ridiculously, maddeningly, outrageously, stinking _rich_," Sirius said, with a hint of insanity that James had become accustomed to.

"Padfoot, how does that make me different than any other Pureblood prat in the school?"

"Because, not only are you _that rich_," Sirius said smugly, "but unlike any other Pureblood prat in this school...you are also blessed with kind, amiable, philanthropically minded, naive, generous _parents_, Prongs. Parents, who- slightly idiotically, it has to be admitted- do not mind giving you access to what is technically their legions of galleons, to spend howsoever you chose," his friend finished with flourish. "No one else in school can boast that particular distinction, and as it just so happens, that distinction is what is going to help you win Evans."

"So, I have to buy her things?"

"Precisely, Prongs. You have to buy her things. Lots of things. Things that no one else could possibly afford to buy her. _That_ will make you stand out to Lily. It will make her want to keep you around."

James thought for a moment.

"I hear she has some poor sixth year, running around trying to save up enough galleons for some emerald and diamond necklace she saw in Hogsmeade," James mused calculatingly.

This plan actually had promise.

"Indeed she does," Sirius added conspiringly.

"I suppose I could buy her that...could some other guy afford that necklace?"

"Prongs, she's had that sixth year saving up since the beginning of his fifth year," Sirius said, laughing wryly. "I doubt anyone else is buying that tonne of rock anytime soon."

James smirked happily.

"Necklace it is," he said shrewdly.

"James, unlike you or Padfoot, I have actually seen the price tag on that thing," Remus interrupted urgently. "It's worth at least four of your Nimbus 1001's," he added disparagingly. "Couldn't you find something cheaper?" Moony asked, reminding them all of his hatred for wasting money. Not that James could qualify it as a waste if it got him closer to Lily.

"Sorry, Moony old pal," he said sympathetically. "The necklace may be worth four of my broomstick, but unfortunately Evans's is worth twenty of those, so numerically speaking, she wins out."

Remus sighed exasperatedly, turning back to his essay.

James turned back to Sirius.

"Thank you, Padfoot, I suppose I owe you a drink," James said bracingly, easing himself off the sofa and making his way over to his secret liquor cabinet.

"Excellent idea, Prongs," Sirius said grinning as James pulled out the Firewhiskey.

"Moony?" James offered as Remus shook his head in refusal.

"Maybe Moony's right," James began, pouring out two large glasses of the alcohol. "It'd probably be cheaper just to get Evans drunk," he laughed, handing Sirius his tumbler.

Sirius shook his head, mid sip.

"She doesn't drink," he informed James honestly.

"Really?"

"She likes to be sober for everything," Sirius said, a smile darkening his face as James got the feeling he was reminiscing. "Also, I heard her first time she was drunk and it didn't turn out too well."

"Who was her first?" James asked, toying with the concept of Lily Evans as a virgin. It wasn't a familiar one.

"No idea," Sirius shrugged, looking thoughtful himself. "But I'd say my first time with her was the first time I'd ever been sober for sex," he added amusedly.

"Well, you usually pulled at parties mate, what do you expect?" James said with a small smile, thinking of the days when he and Sirius discovered that alcohol was possibly the best aphrodisiac of all.

Sirius barked in laughter.

"Yeah, well it was different with Evans, I can tell you that. She saw me pulling out the whiskey as we undressed and she smacked me full on the face and told me she wasn't interested in being slobbered all over by a drunk idiot. She said if she had wanted that she would've asked you up," Sirius said laughing in memory, as James smirked wryly, again thinking of the days when he couldn't hold his liquor.

"She is something else," he added quietly, swirling his glass around.

"Must be to keep you coming back," James said, still smirking.

Sirius nodded, taking another sip.

"No one else like her. She has every single guy in this school infatuated with her, some buying her gifts who she isn't even shagging, some dry cleaning her clothes, some sending her flowers every single day and generally, she gives them nothing back," Sirius said oddly, his eyes filled with dry amusement. "I consider myself to be very lucky to be getting off so lightly," he finished, nodding his head towards James

"So what do you bring to the table then, Padfoot, I'm curious to know? I would say experience but we both know she doesn't give a toss about that."

Sirius laughed quietly.

"You, Prongs," he stated with a slight tone of resentment. "I bring you."

James gave him a questioning look, frowning profusely.

"Oh please, James, we both know she wouldn't be screwing me if she wasn't so sure that it was annoying the hell out of you. That's what Regulus was about. That's what Masterson was about. Hell, she'd have Peter if she didn't have any pride and thought it would annoy you enough," Sirius said informatively.

"So why do you keep doing it?" Remus interrupted pressingly, as James got the distinct impression that this was a conversation that they had had before.

"If I stopped she would know that James was pissed enough to start cock blocking for her," Sirius said to Remus strongly. "Got to leave you with some of your pride intact, eh Prongs?" he said turning to James with a grin on his face.

"Merlin knows I've lost enough of it where she's concerned," James said, grinning back at him meaningfully.

Sirius chuckled breathlessly.

"You're pissed because you think I'm standing in the way of fate or something, aren't you Moony?" Sirius said loudly, winking at James who looked to Remus feeling slightly amused that his friend thought this had anything to do with fate. This all came down to tactics and who planned it out better.

"You know full well what I think of what you're doing, Sirius," Remus said calmly, eyes still on the paper.

"I think Prongs ought to hear your views, Moony," Sirius said still sounding delighted. "I think he'd find them very interesting," his best friend went on, giving James the distinct impression that he would find Remus's ideas more hilarious than interesting.

When no reply came from Remus, Sirius turned back to James.

"Moony thinks that you and Lily are _meant to be_ and that I'm just standing in the way of things," Sirius said ironically.

"Never thought of you as a romantic, Moony," James said, thoroughly amused, as Remus rolled his eyes, still not saying a word.

"_The sooner he figures out that he's in love with her, the better_," Sirius quoted in a remarkable impression of Remus as James's eyes widened in shock.

"Love?" he said, almost choking on his whiskey. "Sorry to disappoint you Moony, but I can assure you that the only reason I am interested in Evans is for her body," James said winking at Sirius. "You remember my Lily motto right? Invade and conquer," he said wickedly, as Sirius laughed in remembrance.

"That's what I told him!" Sirius said incredulously.

Sighing, Remus looked up disparagingly.

"Of course you're not in love with her," Remus said sarcastically, as James wondered if it was nearing a full moon. Remus was being particularly irritable tonight. "You've only spent the last three years dying to touch her. Talking about her every single second of every single bloody day. Talking to her every time she enters a room. Checking every single time to see if she comes to the Quidditch Matches. Inviting her to attend Quidditch practises. Cancelling Quidditch practise just to patrol with her. Throwing every guy who's ever slept with her off the Quidditch team. Hexing the crap out of Snape every time you see him because you're nearly positive that she's slept with him. Using every possible chance you have to show off in front of her; expose yourself in front of her, act intelligent in front of her. Of course you've only started doing your homework because you _don't_ want to impress her. You spend every waking moment ruffling your hair because you _don't _care that she tends to date guys with long messy hair. And you definitely don't sleep with legions of other women because you want to make her jealous or show her what she's missing out on. Apologies, Prongs," Remus finally finished his voice practically dripping with irony. "I must have thought you were in love with her from the fact that your whole bloody life revolves around her. _Obviously_, I was wrong."

James sat there in shock. He had to admit that the start of that speech had been amusing but it had rang a little too true for his liking when he considered it in it's all.

But that still didn't stop it being ridiculous.

Sure, all that was true, but he chased after the Quidditch cup like he was going to die if he didn't get it. That didn't mean that he was in love with it.

_Maybe_, he was a little obsessed, but in the first instance that was out of lust and in the second obsession was extremely different from love.

Or so James had heard.

Seeing the disbelieving look on his friends face, Remus sighed again.

"Your whole happiness is based upon that girls every move, emotion and smile," Remus said a little less harshly. "You live for her recognition. Her attention. _Her approval_. Say what you like Prongs, but I remember the day in sixth year that her and Snape stopped talking for good. You were miserable the whole day when you should have been rejoicing in the fact that essentially, you'd won. Lily had finally realised what a jerk he was and yet she spent the whole day up in her room crying. I've never seen you more downhearted. I never seen you more tempted to actually break down the dormitory steps and go up there to comfort her. Proof? First thing you did when she emerged? You hugged her and went and got her treacle pudding from the kitchens. No gaudy jokes. No rejoicing. No showing off. You're in denial because you don't want to love someone who is purely in everything for sex. Someone like Lily. Because if you actually admit to yourself that you're in love with her, it will mean that sex with her will mean something more to you. But not to her. And whilst it annoys you to lose to her physically, _it would kill you to lose to her emotionally_, so you pretend that all of your actions are simply about getting her into bed. Please, Prongs, I'm surprised you've got everyone else fooled, but not me. If you just wanted to shag her this little game would have ended long ago," Remus stated disparagingly, eyeing James with a maddening certainty.

James swallowed, not sure of how to answer.

It was all total crap, Moony's reasoning. But unfortunately he made his point so well that it was hard to argue with.

"Moony," he began sensibly. "I don't love her," he said insistently, though not to the point of showing denial. "If I was in love with Evans, I would know it Moony. Love isn't something that you can just pretend isn't there. You've seen Frank and Alice, Remus. The two of them practically shed love. As much as I'd like to admit that there's something more poetic behind this whole game between me and Evans, there isn't. We're both physical beings who liked to get laid. That's all. It's immoral and reprehensible and not something I would like my mother to find out about but there it is. I'm not ashamed of what it is. I enjoy it. And when Lily and I finally do screw it won't be some horrendously passionate affair because I don't enjoy sex like that, and neither does Lily. Does she, Sirius?" he asked his comrade, looking to him for agreement.

Sirius nodded his approval to James.

"You see, Moony? I intend my first conquer of Lily to be brutal," James said with relish. "And it will be. It will be brutal, and it will destroy her and every little notion she has about me in one fell swoop," he finished fervently.

Remus shook his head, as Sirius raised his eyebrows to James. They clearly weren't winning Moony over.

"How could you possibly know if making love is an enjoyable form of sex when you've never had it, James?" Remus questioned quietly. "I hope I'm wrong. I really do. Because I don't wanna be the person picking up the pieces of the mess you and Sirius have created when you've finally realised that you love her," he went on firmly. "It's nearing Christmas, James. Six months and then she's out of your life for good. When she's gone...we'll see how you cope then," he finished sadly, pulling himself up and heading out the portrait hole, bumping into Lily on the way out.

"Evans!" James said loudly, drawing her attention over to himself and Sirius. She smelled of jasmine tonight. "Am I in love with you?" he asked, amusement tainting every feature of his face.

"God I hope not," she deadpanned, swaying past them and up the staircase and into her room.

Sirius barked in laughter, as they heard the portrait door slam shut.

"Brutal as always," Sirius said admiringly, pouring himself out some more whiskey.

James chuckled a bit, although feeling a bit put out at her lack of response.

"Moony's hilarious," he said, pushing the feelings of neglect to the back of his mind. "You've got to wonder where he comes up with this stuff," James said to Sirius laughing as he drank some more.

Sirius made an approving noise.

"Eh....Moony just hates being right when nobody believes him," he said in satisfaction, as James looked at him strangely.

"You don't believe him, do you?"

"Of course I do!" Sirius said incredulously. "He's right isn't he? You're head over heels. Difference is, I trust you Prongs. You'll figure it out before it's too late. You're not as stupid as Moony thinks you are."

James sighed, feeling more than slightly annoyed by all this love talk. For pities sake, couldn't he be attracted to someone without being in love with them?!

"Oh don't give me that look, Prongs! Somewhere you know Moony's right. You just...well, what he said. Moony says it much better than I do," Sirius said in admiration. "Either way, focus on the necklace for now. I'd rather see you get laid than married right now, so everything's grand," he finished, winking at James again.

"You're both wrong, you know that? You'll see whenever I win."

"Sure, we are Prongs. Because Moony's _never _right about anything."

"Fuck off. He's wrong about this."

"If you don't marry her, Prongs then I'll name my first born son Elvendork."

"Who would have kids with you?"

"Minerva would. She wants me."

"I'm going to bed. I'd rather not throw up this Firewhiskey. It was rather expensive."

"Nighty night, Prongs."

"Good night, Padfoot. Go back to your dorm. I want you up early tomorrow so we can go and buy that necklace."

James stopped on the staircase looking up at Lily's dorm door with a feeling of impending victory, as Sirius made his way back to the Gryffindor tower.

Sighing a little, he couldn't deny that Remus had planted seeds of doubt in his head.

_God I hope not._

"Me too, Evans. Me too."


	4. Lesson One

Hello all,

Just a quick note to say sorry for the long update! You more than surpassed the quota for reviews- I think I got maybe 12? Thanks so much for taking the time- I hope the response will be as positive for this chapter.

I'm not ashamed to say it- reviews are why I write! :P

Anywho- I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and wish you all a very good new year!

Thanks and REVIEW!

BGWSRS

P.S. I have two other new stories up so please check them out and review- I'd love to see some regulars! :D xxx

* * *

James squinted horribly as the sunlight danced off the bright emeralds and diamonds that were glimmering in the afternoon's radiance.

So this is what it had all come down to, ey? A necklace.

And not just any necklace. Judging by the looks of things- the world's most expensive necklace. It was definitely a sight to behold.

James wondered if Lily would be able to hold her head up just wearing the thing. But then, the gravitational capacity of Evans's pretty head was not his primary concern. Nope- getting her to wear the thing and offer to give him a 'lesson' or two, was more his objective.

Swaying dashingly into the shop, James smirked when the shopkeeper nearly fell over as he pointed out which object he wanted to purchase.

After attainting the item, and with his pockets considerably lighter than before, James strode out of the shop purposively- with his objective in mind and the primary means of getting it- in his hand.

"Hello sailor."

At the sultry voice James swivelled round to see his favourite blonde bombshell, Jessica Rubbins, standing right behind him, and looking- for lack of a better word- abso-bloody-lutely delicious.

Smirking, he stuffed the jewellery box into his back pocket and wandered towards her.

"Jessica," he replied, arrogance tainting his every feature. One of the best things about Jessica- apart from the many of them- was that you could always tell when she wanted some. The tell tale sign? She always twisted her long blonde hair around those pretty little fingers of hers.

And right now- that hair couldn't have gotten more wrapped around those fingers if it tried.

"Where've you been hiding?" James furthered, his hand slipping gently around her thin waist, his head rubbing into her neck.

"Oh...around," she breathed silkily, turning to him and pushing him easily into the alleyway just beside the jewellers, and arching herself into his body.

"Well, I'm very glad to have stumbled upon you," he chuckled, kissing her neck now and vaguely hoping that the necklace wasn't getting any damage done to it by how hard she was pushing him up against the wall.

Deciding to rectify the situation immediately, James swivelled her around, arching her gently into the wall, and began to do his favourite thing....explore.

Truth be told- James didn't think much when exploring. His mind seemed to wander off. There's only so much skin a bloke can see before he stops being coherent. And- well, Jessica hadn't been wearing very much to begin with, so generally- James was at a disadvantage from the start. But, judging by her moaning, James thought that she was enjoying herself as much as he was.

But then she wasn't there anymore.

Confused, James looked around quickly, only to discover Jessica on her knees.

A shockingly big grin overtook James's face.

He loved it when Jessica Rubbins was on her knees.

Only good things ever followed that action.

Groaning profusely when she took him in her mouth, James clutched at the wall for support, barely a thought registering in his head. Resisting the urge to thrust into her warm mouth, he had to spread his legs a little to steady himself completely.

Vaguely he heard the sound of a box clattering to the ground.

And then all he knew was that Jessica's mouth had left the vicinity.

But she was still on her knees- so that can't have been too bad a sign.

Looking down, he sighed when he saw her to be studying Lily's necklace in its box with great intensity. And then she looked up at him with the sweetest smile. Although, he wanted to tell her to stop. Only Evan's could really pull off that smile- the 'I want something and this is how I'm going to get it' smile.

"Oh, James baby," she purred, beginning to lick again as James's hips bucked involuntarily. "For me?"

Too out of it to answer, James contented himself with a groan and decided that he could tell her afterwards.

"James?" she queried again slyly, still continuing her ministrations and placing the box back in his back jean pocket- not forgetting to grope him on the way around.

Stupid woman.

Didn't she realise that he didn't really want to talk right now?!

"James?!" her voice echoed sharply, as he realised that she had stopped completely and was now standing face to face with him.

"What?" he replied, exasperated and sorely tempted to just take her there and then before she could say anything else.

"I asked you if this was for me." Jessica asked with a hardened tinge to her voice.

"Eh, no," James breathed, his voice coming out strained.

He tried to kiss her again but she pulled away.

"What?"

"It's not for you," he said simply, slipping his hands under her shirt and beginning to kiss her neck again.

"Well, who's it for," she said in a half giggle, as he licked just below her ear.

Had James been more coherent he might have noticed the dangerous tone in Jessica's voice. He might have also remembered that Jessica Rubbins absolutely despised Lily.

Jessica viewed the two of them as being in some sort of competition. On more than one occasion, James had been more than tempted to tell Jessica that there was no competition. Lily had already won. She had Sirius. She had practically every guy in the school begging at her feet and she wasn't on her knees in some alleyway. Hell, she'd even have him if she'd ever take an interest- and that was saying something.

Nope- no competition at all.

Sure, Jessica was hot.

But so were a lot of girls.

And then there was Lily-

She took things to a whole new level.

Unfortunately, due to Jessica's actions for the last several minutes, James was anything but lucid and in desperate need of a release. So he would have said anything to shut her up and get her back on her knees where she belonged.

"Evans," he answered tactlessly, his head still at her neck and his hands noticing that her body had become unduly stiff. He pulled back to see her eyes lit up with pure green jealously, her whole face twisted into a nasty scowl and her hands balled furiously into fists.

"What?" James furthered, still equally as 'warmed up' as before and his passion going nowhere.

"If Lily is the one who that necklace is for, then maybe she should finish you off," Jessica spat at him, beginning to button up her shirt, and attempting to pull away from him.

Infuriated, James shoved her back against the wall.

"Listen," he growled, now remembering his least favourite thing about Jessica Rubbins- they had had this conversation more than once, "what I do with Evans has nothing to do with you, understand? I've told you this before. Now you get up and walk out of this alleyway and see what happens to you. Even Peter won't want you anymore," James finished cruelly, holding her by the shoulders. "Now get back down on your knees and finished what you started."

Fire in her eyes, Jessica looked seconds away from slapping him....but didn't.

Instead she kissed him on the neck lightly...another one....and another one, before slowly sinking to her knees.

Grinning, James threw his head back in ecstatic expectation of what was to come.

"Yes," a voice said harshly, as James snapped his head towards the entrance of the alleyway, ninety percent sure that he had hardened more from the sound of her voice.

"Back down on your knees, Jessica," Lily purred, her silky voice echoing through the alley. "Like the good little bitch that you are."

James looked down to see Jessica angrier than ever before.

Breathing harshly, Jessica jumped up to the sound of Lily's laughter. Before she made good her escape, James grabbed her roughly once more.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Turning her head to him, James saw her determination falter and slipped a hand in between her thighs to toy with the edge of her lacy underwear.

Smiling to himself when he heard her moan- 'let's see Evans say I can't pleasure a woman after that sound'- James found himself to be irate with uncertainty when he heard Lily laugh once more.

"By the way Potter," she said airily, "Diane asked me to tell you that she can't see you later on tonight- she has Quidditch practise. But she told me to say that she had a wonderful time the other night."

"Diane?" Jessica bit out, clenching her thighs together and making James withdraw his hand. "My sister?!"

Lily chuckled lightly before James was given the chance to respond.

"Oh, don't worry Rubbins. Judging by Potter's track record, I'd say he's had your brother as well," she quipped indecently, winking down the alley at James who was just about ready to strangle either Jessica, her or himself.

Rolling his eyes again as Jessica tried to run for a third time; James caught her from behind just as they both turned to face Lily.

"Oh, come on," he whispered into her ear. "She was nothing compared to you."

Jessica chuckled a little and turned over her shoulder to kiss him. He obliged her happily but never took his triumphant gaze from Lily's vibrant eyes.

It took him a moment to notice that Lily had begun to wander towards the pair gracefully. She sidestepped behind them, before finding her way to James's hip.

"Pity," she whispered to his neck, as suddenly all his hands, eyes and arousal cared about were Lily. "I was hoping you'd get her to leave."

"What?" he mumbled back urgently, as Jessica turned round and shrieked at the sight of Lily.

"Get rid of her," she murmured, biting down on his neck and sucking lightly.

Attempting to keep his knees steady, James shoved Jessica off him in no pleasant manner.

"Go," he barked at her, his eyes lolling back at Lily's tongue teased its way to the corner of his ear, before she bit down hard.

"W-w-w-what?!" Jessica stuttered, looking distraught yet James couldn't bring himself to care- all he could think about was the stunningly gorgeous red head and what she wanted him to do and how much of a reward he would get for doing it. And if 'it' was shattering Jessica Rubbins's overblown ego then James couldn't get started quick enough.

"You heard me," he said, his voice strained as he reached around his hands to cup Lily's ample yet supple hips- _and she didn't push him away-_, "go."

With a loud wail of something obscene, Jessica stormed out of the alleyway, leaving James to his contentedness, in the arms of a goddess.

"This for me?" she purred, her mouth still at his neck, and he felt her clutching around his lower half- one hand at his back pocket, the other at his erection.

"You bet your sweet ass it is," he groaned into her hair, referring to both of the items she was holding in her hands.

He hissed as she removed the box and her hand, but was soon compensated by the roll of her hips against his back.

"Now," Lily said, a feral grin on her face, moving to face him, with her hands still behind his head, "let's see if Potter's been a good boy."

"Hasn't happened yet, love," he growled softly, biting into the sweet flesh that was her neck, as she laughed deeply. A low, sexy sound that had filled his dreams from the moment he had heard it.

"Hmmm....it's from J.D. Lockwood's, good start," she mumbled, pressing a wet, arousing kiss behind his ear, as James sighed happily in response.

She was letting him rub his arms and hands against her luscious curves.

Surely this was heaven.

Some sort of twisted heaven where he was two seconds away from exploding.

A sharp intake of breath.

"Left on the price tag, Potter? Definitely a good move," her voice came cutting through his erotic reverie in breathy, lust filled tone, as she let out a soft, carnal moan at the fact that he had let a lingering hand play on her breast a little longer than before.

He could barely contain his grin.

And all it took was this little necklace.

She gave off a startled sound of pleasure as he heard the box clicking open. Taking advantage of her momentary shock, he thrusted into her hips with his own, revelling in the feeling of the _woman_ who was letting him touch her like this.

Lily bit down on his neck hard and James was surprised to feel his legs buckle completely. He would have hit the ground if it hadn't have been for his hands gripping her hips greedily.

"All for me, sexy?" she groaned into the bite mark she had just left on his neck as James began to feel that her body was as aroused as his.

He hoped it was because of him and not at the sight of the jewellery.

"Who else, beautiful?" he replied, a grin on his face, moving his lips around to her own, hoping for a kiss that would be the beginning of an amazing relationship.

Relationship....?

He meant the beginning of an amazing night.

...

But then she wasn't there anymore.

She was leaning against the wall, eyeing him with a mixture of suspicion and almost admiration.

"What do you want?" she asked lowly, and James was reminded forcefully of a cornered cat, attempting to battle its way out of a trap.

"What makes you think I want something?" he replied slowly.

"Because there are only two people who know how much I want this necklace," Lily began dangerously, letting her fingers trail over the jewel, but never taking her equally stunning eyes off of him. "And one of them you don't know. The other is Sirius. So I ask you again, Potter," she said harshly, "what do you want? Is this your trump card or something?"

James let out a bark of laughter.

If she thought that this was his trump card she was sorely mistaken.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously at his laughter, and he cleared his throat knowing that in order to win her over, he'd have to turn on the charm.

"No...no trump card, Evans," he began quietly, looking at the creature before him- the want unmistakeable in his eyes. "Just a proposition...."

That had gotten her interested...

He could tell from the way her eyes had lit up intensely.

"Elaborate."

"You like that rock, no doubt?" he queried idly, moving himself to lean on the wall opposite to her.

She scoffed in response.

"I adore it," she breathed, her eyes glancing down at it wantonly, yet returning to his just as quickly.

He could see she was afraid that he would snatch the trinket away at any moment.

"You know why I bought it for you?"

She shook her head.

"Because I _can_, Evans," James said forcefully, his determination flowing out of his eyes. "Because I can afford to. Because I have enough money to buy you necklaces like that every day until you are half as fine and twice as bitchy."

She almost growled at this, and James smirked, realising Sirius's truth.

It was the one thing he had over her.

Money.

"I ask again, Potter," she said haughtily, after a pause. "What do you want?"

"Quite simply, babe, I want you. I realise that it's not going to happen unless I fork out quite a bit...."

"I'm not a whore, Potter. You can't just buy me," she bit out, her eyes flaring again in that cat-like manner that James was beginning to love more and more.

"Oh, I know," he replied lackadaisically, pushing up his shirt sleeves, still laden with sweat from their previous exertions. "I wouldn't want you if you were," he continued, knowing full well that it was a lie. He'd probably be her best customer. "I was thinking more of an exchange...."

"Oh yes?" she said, grinning again now that things were going her way and shoving her leg complete with lush thigh into his groin. James resisted a sudden burst of lust and forced himself to continue.

"Jewellery for....lessons," he said in a strained voice, her thigh doing more salacious things to him than Jessica Rubbins's mouth did in a whole month.

The movement stopped.

"Lessons?" she asked in a light voice, her eyes shining with curiosity.

"Teach me," he breathed harshly, giving in and putting his arms around her waist, pulling her towards him- their chests blocked only by the intrusion of the prized emerald.

She arched an eyebrow elegantly in question.

"Teach me to...please you," James murmured, never letting up on his gaze of her eyes, except to allow them to dip momentarily into her luscious valleys below.

She let out a short laugh before she realised he was serious.

Her eyes darkened and her lips reddened considerably.

"The terms?"

"Piece of jewellery per week. Two lessons a week."

She took a moment to consider, allowing her head to fall into his neck and he groaned again to feel her placing light, earthy kisses from his neck to his ear lobe.

She bit and he yelped.

"I won't stop seeing other guys."

"I wouldn't ask you to."

......

"We do things my way..."

"I was hoping you'd say that," he chuckled, licking his lips at the sight of her moistened ones. "So, do we have a deal?"

Taking a great deal less time to consider than previous, Lily nodded her head eventually, snapping the jewellery box shut in a satisfying manner.

He grinned widely. His plan had worked.

"Any chance we could start the first lesson now?" he said a little desperately, his eyes pointing downwards to his still aching arousal.

"Alright," she said, smirking sexily- leaning into his ear as James nearly shook in anticipation.

"Lesson one..." she whispered, biting on his ear lobe with enough tongue to make him pull her hips to his and thrust upwards....

He jumped and yelped loudly when he felt a freezing cold gush of water descend upon his member and his eyes widened when he noticed that it was from her wand.

"Don't give me the jewellery until the end of the lesson," she said dryly, winking at him before walking out of the alleyway- her hips swaying in a tantalizing manner.

"I'm not an alleyway kinda girl, Potter," Lily called, throwing a cheeky wave over her shoulder.

His arousal waning, James found himself unable to hold in a grin as he sank to the alley ground, his hands grasped together in victory.

Unbeknownst to herself, Lily Evans had just surrendered to James Potter- hook, line and giant gleaming emerald sinker.


	5. Bruises and broken bones

Hello all,

another update date that is horrendously late I know! Apologies and the usual- I'll try not to be as bad with the next chapter.

I suppose that this chapter may seem a little tame compared to the previous ones, but its only because the next chapter is smut central so I had to ease off! Hope you all enjoy- review to your fingers bleed ;) Was very pleased with the response to the last chapter so a similar one would be fantastic!

Thanks for all your support!

BGWSRS

* * *

If she was ever tortured by way of some insane purist wizards, Lily Evans would have to admit that she didn't give two shits about being Head Girl. When she received the letter before the commencement of seventh year, she had immediately groaned and wondered how the hell she was going to get out of this one. It would mean work, nights off from her 'schedule' for patrols and even worse- having to attend bloody meetings with the school board as the 'student representative'. The very thought of doing any of those things gave her an instant headache.

It was obvious why the school had chosen her- she was the very image of respectability, responsibility and duty. 'The best prefect Hogwarts has had in years'- the former Head Boy had told McGonagall once (the fact that she was sleeping with him at the time bore little relevance to that comment). Typically, she didn't mind doing her services to the school. She could roam around the school on rounds and pick up all the little new and undiscovered nooks Hogwarts had for her various secret 'activities'. But being a prefect left you free time. Alone time- or in Lily's case- 'occupied' time. Being Head Girl left you _no_ time. Especially when you were responsible for coordinating the prefects and responsible to Dumbledore, both of which required constant attention.

Of course, she was free to turn down the position- if she wanted to. But then she had read the small print underneath the 'congratulations'.

_Head Boy; James Potter_

That had made things a whole lot more interesting. Lily wasn't quite sure when the dynamic had shifted but somewhere in between her ripping Potter a new one at the end of fifth year and finally giving up on Severus, James had become less of a pain and more of a...plaything.

Sixth year had been the best year yet...she honestly didn't know how she would have gotten through that workload if Potter hadn't been there, taunting and teasing her at every turn. It was a relief. A _good_ relief that left her feeling exhilarated. And the thought of her, and Potter and their own, personal, _private_ dorm to do whatever they pleased in made her think twice about declining the position.

....

Not that they would be doing anything...but she was sure _he_ thought they would be. And that 'exhilarated' her more than anything else.

So, she took the job and she did it well. As she did everything else. But it was the nights like these that she hated the most.

Patrols.

The Slytherin prefects never bothered to show up for patrol duties so as per usual, it was just her and one dark gloomy castle.

She sighed running a hand through her tangle of thick red curls...to think...she could have spent this evening with Derek Wylie. She had only 'met up' with him twice but already the sixth year was learning fast...he really did do the most delicious things with his teeth.

Lily smirked, thinking back to their first evening together. The poor boy had been trembling....but that was to be expected- the look a man got on his face when he saw a naked woman for the first time was not one they could control. But then the look changed...to one of a starved predator that hadn't eaten in months.

He looked like he wanted to consume her.

Lily shivered. The memory made her toes curl in ecstatic remembrance...how he had grabbed her and bit down on her neck...how the moan she gave had made him bite harder.

Deciding that if she walked quicker she could finish the patrol and go 'wake him up', Lily shook herself out of her reverie and marched quickly to the end of the corridor.

Jumping slightly when a cold hand descended upon her wrist, her eyes widened as she was thrown into the stone wall harshly. Shaking the hand loose, she quickly regained her composure to give whoever it was hell.

Touching her without permission...they may as well have signed their own ticket to Azkaban.

Looking up, she was met with a pair of icy grey eyes that bore into hers...filled with anger, determination and....self restraint?

"Lucius," she said calmly, her tone betraying the roar inside of her. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I think you know, mudblood," the Slytherin hissed, now pressing his chest firmly up against hers, trapping her to the wall with his body weight.

Controlling the shiver of apprehension that her body gave, she gave a small smirk and fixed her eyes upon his. "I was wondering when it would come to this," she whispered, moving her neck around to his- her lips ghosting over the pale flesh they found there.

"That's not what this is about!" Lucius spat, grabbing her roughly around the neck and forcing her head back so that it slammed upon the wall painfully. Growling, Lily dug her nails into his chest, but it seemed to have no effect.

"I never thought you're legs would open so wide as to start catching Slytherins but apparently your more of a whore than I first thought," he jeered bitingly, his fingers tightening about her throat as Lily's breathing doubled in speed. His forehead now pressing against hers with severe force, Lily thought quickly. Eyes darting around she noticed his slow, deep exhalation, one hand grasped around her neck and the other...grasped around her thigh- fingers inching cautiously over the bare skin, the thumb betraying the rest to rub brazenly at the inner curve of her leg, wandering back and forth over the smooth expanse of skin....the self restraint in his eyes, breaking just a little.

Letting her tongue dart out slowly to lick her lips tenderly, Lily resisted a smile when she saw his gaze drop- the fingers around her thigh tightened considerably...the ones about her neck loosened.

Taking advantage of the room she now had to manoeuvre in, Lily tilted her head to his neck again, dusting her lips once more over his skin. Reaching his ear, she licked a little at the tip-hearing him gasp- before placing a hot, wet kiss on his neck. Lucius groaned, and Lily knew...she was in.

Placing her delicate fingers about the hand that grasped her thigh wantonly, Lily dragged the intruder higher up her thigh, feeling his fingernails dig into the flesh as she did so. Trailing her mouth around his jaw, lips still sweeping skin- she met his eyes, cloudy with want. His breathing now fast and heavy, she pulled at his bottom lip with her teeth before placing a sweet kiss on his lips. Opening his mouth to protest, Lucius let his head fall forward into her neck.

"I...I..." he stuttered in mitigation.

Tilting his head back up to hers, Lily let her eyes pour lasciviously into his, her lips inches away from his once more.

"Tell them you forced it on me," Lily breathed huskily, into his ear.

With a vicious growl, Lucius's lips were on hers...wet and forceful and demanding. Grabbing her jaw, her pried her mouth open and shoved his slick tongue in. Only such a sick fuck as Lucius Malfoy would find the idea of raping her a turn on.

Reminded forcefully of a snake as his tongue toyed with hers, Lily tried not to gag as she thought up the next stage of her plan. Breaking her mouth away from his, she faked a loud moan as Lucius hiked her up onto the wall, his hands fumbling with his trouser buckle. Hearing the garments clink to the ground, Lily bit down on his neck harshly and heard him groan loudly. Deciding she was just going to have to go all out, she waited until his hands ghosted up her thighs to meet her panties.

"Oh, yes...Lucius, don't stop!" she moaned as loudly as she could.

As he fixed his lips to hers once more, hands still struggling with her undergarments, Lily prayed beyond all belief that someone had heard. _He_ must have heard. He was always wandering the castle at this hour anyways...if he had heard the name she screamed he would be here in seconds.

Feeling her stomach jerk in repulsion as his uncovered erection brushed against her leg, she tried not to struggle too obviously as he ripped her panties away from her. Opening her eyes in panic and finding his still to be closed as he kissed her, Lily's heart jumped in relief as her eyes found black.

"Lucius," a cold voice said, breaking the silence.

Lucius's eyes snapped open and he jumped back in shock, letting Lily fall to the ground. Not missing the blush that stained Snape's cheeks as she hit the ground, Lily realised that she was currently completely uncovered- her skirt pushed up around her hips and underwear, nowhere to be seen. Pulling her clothes down in an attempt to regain modesty, Lily witnessed Lucius to be doing the same.

He was still breathing harshly, eyes darting anywhere but her and Snape.

"What do you want, Severus?" he asked breathlessly, doing up his belt buckle again and straightening out his shirt.

Severus said nothing, but continued to eye Lucius harshly, never removing his gaze.

"What?!" Lucius questioned rather desperately, failing horribly in an attempt to look nonchalant.

"I was just thinking that after the scenes that greeted Black three days ago, it mightn't be such a good idea to...."

"I was just teaching the mudblood a lesson," Lucius said, trying to sound menacing- his gaze still not coming back to meet Lily's.

"I'm sure," Severus replied, his calm, cold voice tainted with scepticism. "Lesson learnt, I believe."

Looking agitated and still not breathing normally, Lucius gave Snape a quick, shaky nod before sweeping around the corner and departing, his cloak whipping after him.

Picking herself up from the ground, Lily dusted down her clothes and checked for stains, before heading in the opposite direction of Lucius.

Sensing that Snape was about to open his mouth to say something, she gave him a fixed glare.

"Leave it."

"Are you..." he began quietly, his hand moving out to grasp for her wrist.

"I'm fine," she bit out harshly, jerking her wrist away from his hand and sweeping past him towards the Heads Common Room, struggling to make sure the tears pooling in her eyes didn't fall.

* * *

A small giggle greeted James's ears, making him smirk in response.

"You like that?" he whispered into Charlotte Stanton's ears, the Hufflepuff seventh year who was currently pinned beneath him on the Head's Common Room couch.

"Mmmmmm," she breathed happily, her eyes squeezed shut, teeth biting her lip as his hands moved in between her legs.

She giggled again, as James's hands slid further up her inner thigh, fingers probing at the soft curls they encountered. A sharp inhalation of breath came next as he inched underneath her panties, the tips of his fingers grazing the pliant flesh that begged for his touch.

Eyeing the petite black haired girl with huge grey eyes that was currently pinned beneath him, James admitted to himself that she wasn't exactly his 'type'. To be honest, the hair and the eyes reminded him of Sirius. But, his lesson with Lily was only two nights away and he wanted to get in some practice beforehand- with his fingers that was. Besides, Charlotte Stanton wasn't exactly experienced so there was no way she could be faking just to appease him- all of her reactions were genuine and exposed.

They had gone slow tonight- too slow of James' liking. After opening the map, closing his eyes and letting the tip of his wand fall onto a random name, James made his way down to the Hufflepuff dorms where Charlotte was residing. With all the getting her outside, coming on to her, kissing her, dragging her up to the dorms, finding a way to make her lie down inconspicuously- James was exhausted and if he was honest- a little bored.

He just didn't understand how Lily did it. He had had more than his fair share of virgins and having to wait for them to be ready, comfortable and willing was just the world's biggest drag. But then he supposed that teenage male virgins were a lot different than female ones. He sincerely doubted Lily had any trouble getting any boy to lie down in front of her.

Secretively checking the clock on the wall as his hands continued to move and Charlotte continued to moan, he noted that Lily's patrol should be over by now. Wondering if it would be too bold to suggest his room to Charlotte, he decided it was his only option. She was already soaked and to leave her unfinished would be just bad manners. And James was nothing else if not a gentleman.

"Charlotte," he whispered into her ear.

"Mmmm?"

"We're going to be interrupted if we don't move soon."

She eyed him uncertainly.

He responded by kissing her deeply and pushing his fingers a little more insistently at her centre. She moaned and arched her back welcomingly.

"We could always go to my room," he suggested quietly in between kisses.

She nodded in reply, as he manoeuvred himself off the couch and helped her to stand up. Holding her from behind, he guided her towards his dorm room, kissing her neck all the way. Not a moment too soon apparently, as he heard the portrait frame slam shut.

Moving a little more quickly, he inched Charlotte up the stairs, his hands still about her waist whilst waiting for Lily's sarcastic comment about 'wearing himself out' or some other such jibe. When none came James felt himself frown a little. Twisting his head over his shoulder, he eyed Lily who was uncharacteristically sitting on the couch he had just occupied himself- head in her hands, shoulders hunched and breathing heavily.

They reached the top of the stairs, James's eyes still on Lily. Deciding that he should check on her- with Voldemort running around you didn't know what was going on one minute or the next- he opened the door to his room.

"Go on in," he whispered to Charlotte, giving her hips a quick squeeze. "I'll be up in a minute."

When he saw her look puzzled and then spot Lily, he turned back to her.

"Head business," he responded in excuse.

She nodded hesitantly, before going into his room slowly. Shutting his door quietly, he made his way down the stairs, puzzled to find Lily still in the same position as before.

"Hey Evans," he said as normally as possible- his usual cheeky swagger coming on immediately, "how was patrol?"

She gave a small jump when he first spoke, before turning around in her seat to eye him.

"Fine," she replied, trying and failing to sound normal. "Alecto didn't show up as usual but that's..."

"What the fuck is that?" James cut in harshly, feeling his fists clench involuntarily as he eyed the dark bruises becoming more and more visible around her neck. On closer inspection he saw the same marks on her wrist.

They were all shaped like fingerprints.

Struggling to regain his composure, he inhaled deeply attempting to give her a chance to respond.

"It's nothing, Potter," she replied firmly, not bothering to deny his questions but giving him a look that warned him not to probe further

"Evans!" he barked, slamming his hands down on the back of the couch. "I asked you a question."

"And I told you it was nothing, Potter!" she spat back, standing up to come face to face with him, her defiant green eyes pouring into his own furious hazel.

"Lily," he said a little more calmly after another deep breath, placing his hand over her own. "You don't have to..."

He trailed off as his eyes drifted downwards towards her thighs, eyeing the same marks there.

A furious growl left Lily a little intimidated, as James grabbed her firmly about the hips.

"Tell me who did it," he said quietly, the anger in his voice barely concealed.

"Potter, listen. There is nothing to..."

She shrieked as he cut her off, hauling her up onto the couch by his grip on her waist so that she balanced by her knees.

"Tell me who did it!" he yelled, grasp tightening as he struggled not to shake her.

"Prongs!" came another voice as both heads snapped towards the portrait hole to see Sirius standing there, looking alarmed at the scene before him.

Silence reigned as James tried to steady his breathing.

"What-...what are you doing here?" he asked shakily, forcing his voice back to its normal timbre and removing his hands from Lily.

"I came to see if Evans fancied some company," Sirius responded slowly, eyes narrowed in confusion.

Lily gave a small sound, before brushing down her clothing and stepping off of the couch.

"Not tonight, Sirius," she replied, sounding tired and giving him a weak smile. "Patrol has me worn out."

James observed Sirius give a small nod, before his eyes drifted lower. Seeing his friend's eyes widen at the marks on Lily's leg, James rubbed his neck and his wrist- an indicator Sirius quickly picked up on, his eyes continuing to scrutinize the rest of the contusions on Lily's body.

He coughed a little, and James could tell he was struggling to maintain his own temper.

"Are you sure?" Sirius asked, his voice coming out strained. "I brought your favourite," he said, forcing a smile, as James quickly transfigured the bottle of Firewhiskey hidden behind Sirius's back into a chocolate soufflé.

On presentation of the desert, Lily gave Sirius a nostalgic smile.

"Too many tricks up your sleeve, Black," she said sounding appreciative, gesturing to her dorm and making her way up the steps herself without acknowledging James.

"Mitsy!" Sirius hissed, as a sharp crack responded instantly. "Two chocolate soufflés right now," he barked at the house elf, who disapparated just as quickly looking worried.

"We have to..." James began, sounding as ruthless as he felt.

"Later," Sirius cut in, in response.

"But someone..."

"I know!" Sirius cut in once more, as the house elf reappeared and handed him the desert with a quick bow. "There's nothing we can do right now," he added, making his way towards the steps as James gave a frustrated growl.

"Later," Sirius insisted once more, his eyes suddenly showing the anger and fire that James's own possessed. "I promise."

Allowing his friend to go on his way, James threw himself down on the couch, the muscles in his back straining from tension.

"James?" came a small voice, as he suddenly remembered Charlotte Stanton.

"Charlotte, listen..." he began, turning around to face the girl standing awkwardly on the steps.

"James...I-I-I've....changed my mind," she said shakily, not really looking at him as James tried to hide his relief.

He nodded briefly, before turning around to face the fireplace, his thoughts otherwise occupied.

Charlotte made good her exit, scurrying quickly out of the dorm whilst James hoped that whatever bastard had put his hands on Lily had tired her out enough so that she'd fall asleep quickly.

Then he and Sirius could do what they did best.

Beat the shit out of Slytherins.

* * *

About a hour and a half later, James was still pacing the common room waiting for Sirius to descend. He sincerely doubted that they were 'doing' anything, but still- chocolate soufflé wasn't exactly the world's greatest sleeping draught.

Throwing himself back on the couch, groaning in frustration, his stomach leapt when he heard Lily's dorm room door slam shut.

Forehead creased, eyes tired and cold, Sirius tripped down the stairs to settle himself beside James looking equally as frustrated.

"Well?" James demanded eager for information.

"She's asleep," Sirius responded, rubbing at his eyes.

James nodded.

"Who was it?"

Seeing Sirius's hands clench around his thighs, James's look became more insistent.

"Fucking Malfoy," he bit out, the growl reminding James forcefully of a dog. "Do we...?"

"Now," James spat. "We kill him now."

Sirius nodded, yet didn't move from his seat.

"Is she okay?" James asked, his thoughts drifting back to Lily, thinking of the pallid look on her face when he first confronted her, his heart giving an unfamiliar lurch.

Sirius nodded again.

"He didn't do anything worse than slobber all over her...but he was close."

"Fucking bastard!" James said, struggling to keep his voice low as his fists pounded at the arm rest. "How did he even manage to get close to her?"

"You know the Slytherins never show up for patrol...she was on her own," Sirius responded, shaking his head in aggravation. "She had to pretend like she wanted it just to get him off her."

"What?"

"She started moaning loudly, so someone would hear," Sirius went on, rubbing his hands together.

"Who heard?"

Sirius gave a deep sigh.

"Bloody hell," James groaned, throwing his head back to hit off the back of the couch as he realised what the sigh meant. "Fucking Snape! Who the hell does he think he is...rescuing her? She isn't his to rescue!"

Sirius turned to him and gave him a wry smile.

"Careful Prongs...that sounds like something someone in love would say."

James gave him a derisive snort. "I just don't like those two twats thinking that Lily is theirs to do whatever the fuck they want with!"

Sirius nodded, although James could tell he wasn't completely convinced.

"It happened two hours ago," Sirius added bitterly. "How fucking rough must he have been with her to make those bruises show up within half an hour?"

Pulling out the map, and ignoring Sirius's remark for fear it would make him perform an unforgivable, James groaned to find that Lucius was in his dorm.

"In his dorm?"

"Yeah," he said tiredly. "How do we get him out?"

"I can think of a few ways," Sirius said slyly, pointing his finger to the Garrick Goyle dot on the map which was situated outside the Slytherin dungeons, apparently occupied with another female student's dot.

Smirking, James stood up briskly as Sirius followed suit.

"I solemnly swear..." Sirius began with a grin on his face, holding out his hand to James.

"To break both of Lucius Malfoy's fucking legs," James responded viciously, shaking Sirius's hand back forcefully, before striding out of the dorm room, invisibility cloak poised in one hand, wand hissing out red sparks located in the other.


	6. Think of Peter

Hey guys,

Sorry for the long wait but I wanted this chapter to be perfect so I worked along time on it. I also promised you all some smut so I had to make sure that was done properly!

So that said- smut below. Be warned!

I was really pleased with the reception to the last chapter. Thank you guys so much! Reviews really do help.

I would love maybe 20 reviews for this one but maybe that's a bit ambitious so lets say middle teens will make me very happy! :)

Longest chapter of TD so far so enjoy!!

BGWSRS

* * *

James groaned appreciatively as the steaming hot water spurted from the shower, cascading down his body languidly and soothing the sore muscles that had been stretched and contorted in every way possible.

Quidditch practise had been particularly brutal tonight, but through his own fault, James supposed. As the Captain he was now pushing the team harder than ever. But between practice and 'taking care' of Lucius Malfoy last night, he was pretty worn out. The latter had been a great stress reliever- something to loosen up all the tension that had been carrying in his upper back recently, and considering the fact that James had been near ready to murder the git- he was quite impressed that they had only broken one arm and both of his legs. As it was Malfoy was currently in the hospital wing, surrounded by his loving Slytherin supporters, who had no idea as to why he was there. James supposed he would say some rubbish about flying or duelling illegally in the corridors. There was no way he would divulge the true reason as to why Sirius and himself had dragged him by his precious hair from the Slytherin portrait hole, hung him by his ankles from the dungeon gates and...well, put him in his current state.

Smiling as he thought of his best friend, currently situated in the shower next to his, James lovingly remembered the days when Slytherin baiting was common practise for the two of them. An activity that was an almost weekly part of their routine. But with the arrival of Head Boy-ship came 'responsibility'- not that James minded having to give up his favourite past time. He missed it no doubt, but a dorm room with Lily Evans was just too good of an opportunity to pass up. There was no way she would be able to resist him with the two of them stuck in such close quarters...and look where he was now. Only a day away from shagging her senseless.

The anticipation was almost too much.

Turning the shower off, James felt his forehead crinkle when his friend gave a yell.

"Holy Shit!" came Sirius's cry.

Too slow to respond, James was caught completely off guard as he was hoisted into the air, left ankle first...bullock naked for the entire world to see.

Turning his head slightly to the left, James witnessed that Sirius was currently in the same unsightly position.

Neck muscles creaking, as he turned to the front, James was horrified to see Lily sitting daintily on the locker room bench- her shimmering, delectable legs crossed; wand twirling dangerously between her slender fingers.

"Boys," she said simply, in her low, sensual voice by way of greeting.

Shaking his head to stop the stray droplets of water trickling into his mouth, James coughed a little before blinking to steady his currently blurry vision.

"Evans, darling..." Sirius started off shakily, sounding a lot less terrified than he probably was. "I'm all for trying new positions but isn't this a little..."

"Shut up!" Lily barked harshly, as James twitched at the tone of her voice. She could pull off a good McGonagall when she wanted to.

Sirius quietened immediately.

The silence in the room was deafening, punctuated only by the occasional sound of water dripping down the shower faucet and onto the ground.

"After you left my room last night, Sirius, where did you go?" Lily said suddenly, her calm voice reverberating across the locker room creating an eerie vibration.

Resisting the urge to look across at his best friend to make sure he didn't confess, James kept his eyes on Lily.

Feeling the blood run slowly down his body and into his brain, James blinked a few times in order to remain lucid.

"I...eh...stayed in the Heads Dorms with Prongs. We opened a bottle of Firewhiskey and then I went back to Gryffindor. Why?" Sirius replied, sounding the picture of innocence, although James doubted that Lily missed the hint of nervousness that graced his voice.

Sighing, Lily stood up from the bench. The heads of both boys followed her as she sashayed across the room. James felt his heart lurch in his chest as her delicate, pale hands complete with red lacquered nails closed around his Nimbus 1001. Walking back to the middle of the room, Lily lifted her thigh delicately before placing the broomstick straight across it, hands balanced on either end. James would have admired the thigh and envied the broomstick if he hadn't been so desperate not to call out and stop her from what she was about to do.

He had never lost a game on that broom. It was his lucky charm.

"Are you sure?" Lily breathed, eyeing both boys unwaveringly. James legs went weak as he heard a few twigs snap in the tail end of the broom- a result of Lily's iron grip.

She had them caught completely.

They couldn't admit what they'd done openly- Lily had trusted Sirius with the name. Admitting to his assault would practically be throwing that trust back in her face. Even if she had her suspicions- they could always deny it.

But she had his broomstick. And they had a game in four days!

Coughing lightly, James condemned himself.

"Yes."

"Oh boys," Lily replied, shaking her head- her green wonders narrowed in hardened pity.

James felt his stomach shake as he heard the broomstick snap in half resoundingly over Lily's thigh.

Then there was a whisper of a spell.

And everything went black.

* * *

Blurry and unfocused- the dorm came into view.

Blinking once or twice to alleviate some of the vagueness surrounding his vision, James groaned stiffly as his back and legs ached. Reaching for his glasses on the bedside table, he clutched at the sheets for aide.

"Well, well. Look who's finally up."

"Shut the hell up, Moony," James replied, his voice sounding incredibly strained. Sitting up, now with his glasses on, he observed his lycanthropic friend to be lying cross legged on his own bed, an open paged book across his lap.

His eyes wandered as he saw that Sirius was currently passed out on his own bed, although he appeared to be sleeping peacefully.

"What happened?" he choked out, rubbing at his forehead in an attempt to sooth his aching head.

Hearing Sirius groan as he now came back to consciousness, James suddenly realised why he was feeling so odd. Looking down at his thighs he observed himself only to be wearing his school trousers- with no underwear underneath.

He knew that Sirius had a penchant for going commando, but for James it was an experiment tried once and never repeated.

Looking back to Remus, who had a small smirk on his face as he observed Sirius attempting to gain his whereabouts, James nearly fell off of the bed as everything came rushing back to him.

Red hair.

Shimmering legs.

HIS FUCKING BROOMSTICK.

"Moony!" he barked at Remus, who turned back to him- the same infuriatingly small smirk plastered to his face. "What did she do?" he hissed, as Sirius groaned once more and yelled at him to shut up.

Remus cleared his throat.

"I'm not sure that you'd want to know...."

"The hell with that!" James replied harshly, supremely pissed off from his headache and his broken broomstick. "What happened?!"

Pausing as he obviously heard Sirius mumble something about 'Moony being a dickhead' into his pillow, Remus cleared his throat again. Clearly he was having trouble articulating something.

"She....you were found," he began unsurely, the same grin still in place.

"Found?"

"In the locker room...naked..."

James rolled his eyes.

"That's it?! Please, I could understand if I wasn't this good looking, Moony but..."

Remus interrupted him by giving a small cough.

"You weren't alone..."

"Of course not," Sirius said groggily, now sounding more awake. "She hijacked me too, the red headed witch!"

"Indeed," Remus replied, now sounding exceptionally amused. "You were there, Prongs was there...you were both naked...and passed out....with your hands..."

"Oh holy Merlin," James cut in, throwing his head into his hands, as his imagination filled in the blanks as to what Lily would have done with his and Sirius's naked bodies...when she was very, very angry.

"Who found us...?" he asked after a period of time, unable to taking the silence and Remus's quiet laughter anymore.

"McGonagall," Remus began, as Sirius barked out laughter, "and Dumbledore," he carried on, as Sirius suddenly fell silent. "And the Minister for Magic, all on a tour of the refurbished stadium....with the Slytherin Quidditch team as student representatives...."

James looked at Sirius, to see if he had any response only to find his friend red cheeked and blinking furiously.

"My mum is going to kill me," James whimpered, head now back in his hands.

Silence reigned again.

"To be clear..."Sirius began, sounding pensive. "Was I on top?"

"How the hell does that matter?!" James yelled, wondering how Sirius could care about such a thing when his future career as head auror, his reputation with every single girl in Hogwarts bar one and his mother's heart were all currently at stake.

"I would always be on top," Sirius replied insistently.

"Nothing happened!"

"Regardless...if I were with a guy..."

"You weren't!"

"There would be no way that _my_ backside would be getting..."

"Padfoot," Remus interrupted quietly, now smiling to a startling degree, looking almost fond of the two of them and their quarrels. "You were on top."

"She may say otherwise but she fucking loves me," Sirius replied happily, shifting down into his blankets again with a smile on his face. "Well, night all. Sorry to be rude but I've got a killer headache..."

"How are you not more...more...more....?!?" James hissed, struggling to find the rights words.

"Meh..." came Sirius's voice from deep within his bed. "People probably thought we were shagging anyways...."

"Since when?!?"

"Since we all started sneaking off into the woods in the middle of the night and coming back with huge scratches all over our bodies."

"I hate her," James hissed childishly, after Sirius had started snoring. "We only did all this for her anyways...."

"Well, then you have no one to blame but yourselves," Remus cut in across James, sounding wise. "Lily always hated it when you beat up Slytherins, but always left you to it with a few hexes. Dragging her into it as your reason for breaking Malfoy's bones was just too far, Prongs."

"And how does ruining my life help?!"

"Well, maybe you're unhappy but you can be damn sure that Lucius Malfoy is probably feeling a whole lot better about his injuries," Remus suggested sounding pensive, whilst examining his fingers. "I doubt a few broken bones given by Hogwarts newest gay couple will annoy him quite so much...."

Lying back on his bed, James huffed audibly trying to figure out why Lily would go as far to ruin both his broomstick and his reputation. Wasn't the broomstick bad enough?

Growling, he threw himself off the bed and decided he needed some answers straight from the pouting, luscious mouth itself.

"Where are you going?" Remus questioned.

Examining the map thrown carelessly on his bedside, James found her to be near the hospital wing.

"To find her," he called back, already out the doorway.

"Good luck," he heard Remus mumble in response.

* * *

"Oi Evans!" James barked as he ran down the corridor towards the hospital wing, witnessing a wave of thick red hair whipping around the door into the healing centre.

Turning quickly on her heel, Lily gave him a dazzling smile- one that made him stop in his tracks for a few moments and wonder why he was mad at her, before she blew him a kiss and drifted around the door once more.

Momentarily stunned by her appearance, James wondered as to why she was visiting the hospital wing wearing a black dress that could only be described as lascivious. It clung to every curve of her body, rode high up her milky thighs and dipped low in all the right places.

Feeling slightly dazed, he traipsed down the hall to follow her.

Upon entrance into the hospital wing, he stopped abruptly in his tracks at the sight that met him.

Lucius Malfoy was lying incapacitated on his bed, bandaged up and with a huge bottle of skele-grow on the bedside table. He was- as predicted- surrounded by his Slytherin cronies as well as the usual suspects; Snape, Narcissa, Goyle and others yet all were looking horrified. Well, except for Narcissa- who was obviously trying not to cry and Snape who looked exceptionally grim- his mouth pulled into the thinnest line James had ever seen.

.....

And then there was Lily, who was elegantly draped across Malfoy's body, breasts pushed tightly against his chest, thighs straddling either side of him with her skin coloured suspenders visible on each leg- placing kisses all over his face.

Frowning, James looked to Lily- to Malfoy's deer-in-headlights expression, and to the horrified visages of all of his friends.

A smirk graced his face...

He should have known that Lily wouldn't let Malfoy get away with his deed so easily.

"Lucius," she moaned, still kissing him generously, now moving down to his chest. "Lucius, I don't care what they say...I was with you the night it happened and when you told me you loved me...."

Lily was cut off as Narcissa let out a screech, her crying now obvious for all to see.

"When you told me you loved me...I knew I couldn't keep away. Is that why they hurt you, my beautiful boy? Because we were to run away together after graduation....?" Lily continued dramatically, clutching at Lucius's chest before kissing him heavily on the mouth. "I won't let them hurt you again, darling. We'll go away to France...like you said, where you can make love to me all the time and not just because Narcissa is doing work in the library!"

Another strangled cry came from Narcissa's lips as James bit back a laugh- unsuccessfully.

All heads snapped to him, including Lily's- her expression still teary and pouting.

Merlin, she was stunning.

Putting on his best poker face, James folded his arms.

"Evans," he said firmly, "how many times have I told you? You two can never be together," James began in his best imitation of his father, as Lily let out a cry of anguish, clutching at Lucius tightly. "Not since I discovered you two naked and writhing around on my father's desk at my surprise birthday party that Narcissa wasn't invited to have I ever told you that you and Malfoy could work!"

Attempting to keep his smirk under control, but smiling a little as he saw Lily's own mask slip for a minute, as she had to bury her head in Lucius's chest to hide her own grin, James looked the other way to give himself a moment of composure.

"I tried to shelter you as a couple...truly I did!" James continued melodramatically, gesturing to no one in particular. "I sent Lucius secret messages with the Heads Dorms password, just so that he might see you once more. When he came crying to me, yelling of how he couldn't take the separation from you anymore and how Narcissa's bony body was nothing compared to your supple form, I felt for him! I wished that you two could be together! I even paid for that secret holiday to Wales that you both took together over Christmas!"

James cut himself off as he saw Lily's shoulder shaking- not from crying as most in the room probably presumed, but from laughter. Turning away swiftly, in an attempt to look pained, he covered his mouth to shield the grin that was constantly trying to form upon his mouth.

"But this!" he hissed, once he had gotten himself under composure. "This exposure! Embarrassing Narcissa in front of all of her friends by finally showing them all how much of a dead, cold fish she truly is! Throwing yourself on top of Lucius in front of all the school- no matter how much he may want it!" James bit out, throwing a handy little spell that he knew straight at Lucius's groin. "It is too much, Evans! It cannot be abided any longer!"

Striding firmly over to bed where both Lily and Lucius lay, James grasped Lily harshly by the arm and dragged her off of the Slytherins body. Narcissa gave a roar whenever she clearly saw Lucius's forced erection, and threw herself on top of Lucius body, banging at his chest with clenched fists.

"You bastard!" she screamed over and over again.

"No!" Lily screamed in response. "You won't hurt him! Lucius, I'll take you away! Away from her and her non-existent breasts!"

Lily's remarks only made Narcissa pound harder, making Lucius wince in pain. No one from the group made any attempt to stop her- all looking gobsmacked- except for Snape who was regarding Lily and James with a sardonic look upon his face.

"Evans! We're leaving!" James barked, feeling that perhaps their work was done.

"No!!!!!" Lily continued to scream, as James dragged her from the wing. "Lucius, I love you!!"

The hospital wing door banged shut, as they were finally outside.

As Lily leaned against the stone wall, breathing heavily, James gave himself a moment to regard her appearance; skirt still hiked up about her thighs- now coated in a layer of sweat, chest rising and falling rhythmically in a rather bewitching manner, with her black lace bra just visible over the curve of her breasts. Her face was beautifully flushed, eyes brightened in exhilaration whilst lips were pouted and bruised from kissing Lucius so heavily.

Taking a breath to steady himself, James met her eyes which flashed against his own. She gave him a small, daring smile and James couldn't help but admire everything about her...all that she had just done, to both his body and Lucius's reputation.

"Evans," he breathed, his voice coming out heavy with lust. "You're a fucking genius."

And before she had a chance to respond, he pressed his own sweating body harshly up against hers- trapping her to the wall. His mouth found hers- wet and welcoming, as he let his hands run up her thighs and to her waist, grasping harshly at the pliant flesh that he found there. He groaned in contentment as Lily ran her slick tongue over his lip, seeking out his own. Finding the feel of her warm tongue against his own irresistible, James grinded his hips harshly against her own to which she let out a low growl from the back of her throat that made him thrust again. Feeling her bite at his lower lip, he pushed his tongue past her teeth, desperate to taste her again. Her lips were like a drug, one to which he was now heavily addicted. They gave a taste, unlike anything he had ever experienced before.

Their now heavy breathing made him very aware of her form practically sealed to his, bewitching it in all the right ways and making him bite back a groan. Licking at her lips- Merlin, they tasted like sugar...- his hands moved to her thick hair, soft and curled, entwining around his fingers as he revelled in being this close to her. The kiss slowed as they licked and bit at each other, until they were finally left; forehead to forehead, cheeks flushed, thighs entwined and begging for more.

Refusing to let up of his grip on her hair or her hips, his eyes bore into hers; flashing and intense from the kiss. A wry smile grew upon her irresistible mouth as James allowed himself a chuckle at what had just transpired. Pressing a slow, heavy kiss to her lips once more, James pulled back to find her observing him with something close to....fondness?

Moving her head down to his shoulder- James shivered at the warmth and scent that her neck brought- she nuzzled at his ear slowly, before pressing a small kiss to the lobe.

"My room, tonight- eight o'clock. Don't be late, Potter."

And then she was away from him- hips sashaying once more down the hall, the wind carrying her delicious scent- of what he couldn't place, down the corridors and straight to his head.

Feeling dizzy and delirious, James leant against the wall, giving himself a moment to recover from their heated encounter.

Lost in his own thoughts of plump lips, rose tinted cheeks and delicious thighs, James jumped when the hospital door banged shut once more, only this time with entirely less pleasing results.

"I would say that was clever, Potter," Snape said coldly, although James didn't miss the spiteful tone, "but really it was just pathetic. You're really that desperate for her to shag you that you're willing to let her strip on top of Malfoy for everyone to see."

"Bugger off, Snivellous," James replied with a sigh, too aware that he had already won today to let Snape drag him down. "I can't be fucking bothered with two Slytherin shits today."

Scoffing, Snape turned on his heel and billowed down the same corridor that Lily had moved down just minutes before.

As James sighed in happiness, he whistled as he made his way out of the castle doors to find the Quidditch pitch- a good fly was in order before tonight's 'activities'.

Stopping as he pulled open the heavy door, he frowned as he heard Snape's voice hiss down the corridor.

"He's only going to make a fool out of you, Lily!"

Deciding that it was probably better to leave it alone- lest he piss off Lily and she cancelled on him- James strode out into the grounds, pushing the idea of Snape and Lily's history clean out of his head- somewhat successfully.

* * *

Taking a deep breath, James regarded the door to the Head Girls dorms.

It was such a simple contraption really, just as you would expect a door to be- wooden and plain. And yet behind it stood the answers to all his dreams.

Lily Evans would be there, in lingerie that was specially picked out for him, wearing a scent that was also just for him. Not Sirius. Not any other frigid sixth year. But Him.

Taking a hold of his famous Gryffindor courage, James leap up the stairs and pushed the fated open.

And there was Lily....

Wearing her school uniform, hair in a messy bun, lounging on her dressing table chair, one sock on, and one sock off whilst studying her nails.

Frowning James checked his watch, and ran a hand through his hair.

"Am I early?" he asked abruptly, as Lily head snapped up to observe him.

"Oh, no," she replied lightly, standing up and stretching. "You're right on time," she went on, giving him a small and entirely too sweet smile.

"Oh," James said awkwardly, trying to hide his disappointment.

Where was the lingerie?

Silence followed as he stood there, unsure of what to do.

Regarding him with a pitying look, Lily tapped the dressing table.

"Jewellery, please."

Realisation hit him and James smirked, knowing she would definitely be happy with this latest piece. Rummaging around his pockets, he pulled out a medium sized box, similar to the one that had housed the first gift.

Handing it to her, she slighty nodded in thanks before snapping the box open. Her eyes widened at first in surprise as she gazed down at the silver hair slide that was decorated with three diamond orchids.

"Wow," she breathed, her cheeks a little red. "It's beautiful."

"I love you with your hair up," he said simply by way of an explanation. Smiling at him, Lily snapped the box shut before setting on her dressing table.

"Well," she said, with a mischievous smile, "let's get started."

Grinning back at her James awaited instructions.

"Lie down on the bed please," Lily began smartly, as James nodded in submission.

"As you wish," he said, making his way over to the bed, before lying down, sighing happily.

Tugging on the bobble that held up her hair, Lily pulled it down allowing her red tresses to tumble luxuriously down her back, messy and unkempt- a sight which did nothing to satiate James's hunger.

"You're different, you know that, Potter?" Lily said, back turned to him as she moved towards the dresser.

"Mmmm?"

Lifting up a light purple bottle and uncorking it, Lily dabbed a few oily drops onto her neck, wrists and right in between the dip of her school shirt.

"I don't trust you..." she continued as she worked. "But I want to....but in order for me to trust you..." she trailed off as she swung back round to him, her vibrant green eyes fixing on his, "you have to prove that you can learn to be a good boy."

Chuckling at her serious tone, James nodded quickly in response, hoping it would get her over here more quickly.

"So...here is the summary of today's lesson," Lily went on, swaying over to him, before lifting one knee onto the bed.

James's blood froze when he looked down and his eyes were met with nothing but red curls and shapely upper thighs.

Placing her finger under his chin and lifting his gaze to meet hers, Lily then proceeded to straddle him, making James inhale quickly in ecstatic expectation.

"You prove you can be a good boy...and then the fun can really begin."

Nodding once more, James allowed his gaze to drift down the delicious body that was currently atop him. He had really underestimated the appeal of their school uniform...particularly when worn by the right person.

Swallowing, James tore his eyes away from her body to find her smirking at him sinisterly.

"What do I have to do?"

The smirk grew.

"You have to keep your hands to yourself..."

Puzzled, James frowned and prevented his eyes from doing another sweep of her form.

"In other words..." Lily clarified huskily, "don't touch."

"At all?"

She chuckled deviously.

"At all."

Determined to pass her test, James affixed his fists firmly to each side of his body and attempted to steady his breathing.

Sensing his readiness, Lily began.

Never letting her gaze break from his, she slowly brought her hand up to her mouth. Opening her mouth and awakening all kinds of memories from their excursion in the hall this morning as he gazed upon the inviting lips, she dipped her tongue languidly out of her mouth before allowing it to swirl around her index and middle finger.

Taking a deep breath, James felt his body clench as blood already began to flow to other areas than his brain.

"Bothered, already Potter?" Lily asked, wet and glistening fingers still poised in the air.

He shook his head in an obvious lie.

"Just enjoying the view."

Smiling but ultimately choosing to ignore his answer, the fingers drifted from mid air before delicately landing on Lily's exposed upper thigh.

Gulping, James forced himself to look up at Lily who was regarding him with a sensual look on her face. Licking her lips, James's gaze moved back down to the fingers on her thigh, wondering where she was going with this.

Sliding her hand gradually higher up her thigh so that a trail of shimmering wetness was left along the limb, she continued until the fingers disappeared- between her thighs.

Transfixed on what was happening before him, James watched the damp on her thigh with thoughts of him licking it off and allowing his own tongue to follow the path that her fingers had just made.

A small moan snapped him out of his reverie.

Her eyes were closed although her eyelids fluttered tellingly whilst her teeth were desperately biting at her bottom lip. Cheeks fully flushed and other hand clenching at the side of her plaid skirt, it only then hit James just exactly what Lily's test was.

Biting back a groan, James licked his own lips desperately as he felt sweat break out all over his body.

_Think of Peter. Think of Peter. _

Another moan, although markedly louder, made James focus on the utterly devious minx before him.

She had to be faking. She just had to be. There was _no_ way that...

A bead of wetness trailed down Lily's inner thigh, proving James wrong and exasperating him further. His eyes followed that small drop of juice down her leg until it hit his trouser leg. Hissing in frustration, James raked his body back under control pushing all thoughts of his mouth and that wet drop out of his head. Closing his eyes, James pushed his mind into other directions.

Until he heard a small but lust filled "oh."

Snapping his eyes open once more, he saw that Lily's hand had travelled further under her skirt so that it had completely disappeared. That meant that her fingers must be...

Attempting to distract himself he looked upwards.

Mistake.

Lily's hair was by now a wild mess forcing James to think of how she would react if he grabbed her hair and forced her head back as he attacked her neck. Would she make the same sounds as she was now?

Dragging his gaze downwards revealed that her white shirt was all she was wearing on top. No bra underneath ensuring that her arousal poked erotically through the thin cotton allowing another assault on James's need.

Deciding that he would just have to watch until the test was over; James steadied his control and focused on Lily's closed yet fluttering eyes.

"Oh, James..."

At the call of his name, James felt his body lurch. Looking back down to Lily's thighs they were now coated in heat from her ministrations. Growling unmistakeably, James prayed for calm but found little. He longed to press his hands to her desirous mound and force her to scream his name in desperation...not temptation.

Lily's hand movements became more rapid, as her moans and noises became louder and more frequent.

"God, James...don't stop."

Gripping the sheets, beneath him, he noticed that he was now completely hard.

Apparently Lily had noticed as well.

Dropping down on top of him, so that her body was pressed flush against his- her nipples grinding at his chest, James felt his hands shake in the need to touch her. Her hair surrounded both of their faces, creating a curtain of red. Lips hanging open in desire, James had to physically stop himself from leaning up to capture them in his own, by biting the inside of his cheek.

Her thighs clung to him tightly on either side as she pushed her head on the inside of his neck. Breathing heavily, her warm scent permeated his head- lilac combined with the tang of her own arousal.

And suddenly her hand was gone from within her thighs.

Nearly dying from relief as the test _must be over_, James jumped in pleasure and surprise as he felt Lily's wet centre press hotly against his own erection. Groaning in disbelief, he cried out in lust as Lily grinded her hips into his, his cried echoed by her own moan of excitement.

"Merlin, Lily," he breathed, throwing his head back into his pillow and clenching the sheet ever tightly, desperate to stop himself from throwing her down onto the bed and pounding into her- knowing that if he did, he'd never get back in this room again.

Another grind of Lily's hips had him swearing, as she began to cry out. Wetness sinking through his trousers, James's legs shook at the feeling of her dripping want on his member.

"Please...please..."came Lily's whimpered cry, as James's eyes snapped to hers.

Was she asking him to?

"Please, James...I need you..."

The grinding of her hips grew to a furious pace as she rode him, panting and hissing in pleasure.

God, he needed her too.

But she was testing him....he knew...he clung to that thought as he felt his body grow closer and closer to release.

"Uhhh...." she breathed, her hands now grasping the pillow on either side of her head, breasts bouncing above him from her exertions.

He longed to rip open that shirt to reveal what was underneath.

But there was no way that he could...

Her whimpers grew into further cries and her thighs began to shake as her movements grew deeper. She thrust her centre into him with a further slow parting of her thighs so that she was now fully lying on top of him, every aching, sweating part of her body pressed directly to his.

"James...James...I'm...I'm" Lily groaned, her gyrations began to grow faster and faster, her hips circling his own in her quest for release.

And then she cried out. Head stretched back, arms and legs shaking, mouth hanging open, chest heaving beautifully.

And the sound was James's undoing.

Unable to take it any longer his hands viciously flew to her thighs nails digging into the soft flesh, fingers grasping greedily at her sweating limbs.

Throwing her down onto to mattress, James forced her thighs apart and threw himself in between, his aching need pressed onto her wet heat.

Just as he was about to raise his mouth to attack her own, she spoke.

"James."

Allowing his eyes to reach hers, his breathing still erratic and unsteady, he regarded her flushed face.

"Where am I?"

Coherence flooded back to his mind as he looked at their position. Her beneath him, legs wide open with him... on top.

How had that happened?!

He had been so sure that....

Looking back to her face, he saw that she was smirking.

Groaning in exasperation, his head fell to the pillow just beside her neck.

"So, I failed?"

She gave a small chuckle.

"I suppose..." she began slowly, voice tinted with mirth, "that because I came first...you passed."

"Really?" he asked in surprise, moving his head back to her view.

"Mmmmm...."

A breath of relief left his body.

Rolling out from underneath him, Lily sat on the edge of bed, straightening out his shirt and skirt.

"I don't suppose that there's any chance..." James began as he sat up to regard her.

"None whatsoever," she responded sharply, clearly pre-empting his question.

He groaned, allowing himself to fall back down on the bed.

She gave him that sweet smile again before leaning down to press a kiss to his lips.

"Next lesson," she murmured against his lips.

Deciding that he could live with that, considering that the image she had just given him would last him a lifetime, James relented.

As Lily drifted into the bathroom, James let his hand drift downwards.

"And don't even think of doing _that_ on my bed!"

Growling crankily, James threw himself off the bed and out of her dorm.

"Hey, Prongs...how was...?"

"Shut up!" James barked on his way to his dormitory, hoping against all hope that Sirius didn't look downwards.


	7. Russians and Broom Cupboard lovin'

Well, well, well...I still exist- who knew? :P Sorry for such a long wait- I say this after every update- but I genuinely did have reasons this time other than my own laziness. Thankfully those reasons no longer exist so hopefully the next wait won't be as long!

This chapter goes out to _lilypotterprongs_, _Cool-mulle_ and _andreabl2_ for all PM-ing me to get my butt in gear! This chapter would probably be a whole lot later if it weren't for them :)

On another note- I received about 2 reviews, from disgruntled James fans who feel that Lily is getting a little too many in the win column over him! All I can say is that I have tried to rectify this a little within this chapter- but, as the name suggests, this plotline requires someone to be an underdog and- for the forseeable future James is going to be fulfilling that role. I would add that this isn't always going to be the case, but it just takes time to get from where we are now- with James as underdog- and where we will get to- with James winning a little bit more. Also- I have read a least 100 fics where James is always suave, smooth and Lily is geeky and nervous- a little crazy- and succumbs to him because he corners her in a hallway and tells her she's beautiful. Those fics are enjoyable- but this is not one of those fics. Lily is James's adversary as well as his partner, so I'm not going to write her as a damsel in distress who allows James to walk all over her. That being said- I do understand the complaints I received- trust me, I love James as much as you do- I just can't make myself write something that would make me feel cliched.

So- when reading, try and picture my Lily and James as much more Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler- her domination and wins over him aren't intended to be humiliating- more humourous.

I hope that helps all who were feeling James's plight and ask that they hang on a little longer- we're getting closer to an even playing field.

Finally, I would say that I'm not really that excited about this chapter- it is more of an interlude to move the story along and introduce different plotlines. Another reason for the lengthy waiting time is because I wasn't sure how to pitch the thing- at first it felt a little thin...then too much- but I've arrived at this and am somewhat happy with the result. I'm also happy it's out there- it means I can move on to much more lemony and dramatic plotlines :D

So, in summary- if you made it through all that, I salute you!- I'd like to give my huge thanks for waiting so patiently for so long, for all the reviews I received for the last chapter- they really made my day, and for *hopefully* reviewing this chapter!

I'd love to get into the 100 range- a little optimistic perhaps- but hey, I'm aiming high :D

Hope you enjoy!

BGWSRS

* * *

"What do you think they're arguing about?"

"No idea..."

"I honestly don't know why Slughorn insists on putting them together. Anyone with eyes can see they hate each other."

"They're the two best in the class..."

"Exactly. Old Sluggie probably just wants to keep his fucking class grades up..."

"Ah! Shit! Prongs...not that I don't love listening to you twat on about Snivellous and Lily, but I have to get an O in this class..."

"Sorry...since when do you care?"

"Since I got cut off. Unlike you, I'm going to actually need a job."

...

"Fucking hell! Would he just fucking leave her alone? Anyone else can see she's miserable!"

"Potter! Black! I hope that draught is coming on..."

"Yes, Professor..."

"Good...well, unless it successfully turns Pettigrew blind then thirty points from Gryffindor."

"Bloody hell, that's it. I'm switching! Moony!"

* * *

"Uggggghhhhhh..."

James let out an appreciative grunt as oil slicked hands coiled themselves around his back muscles, probing until they contracted in submission.

A low chuckle greeted him in response.

"You like that?" Lily whispered, moving her hands once more.

Choosing instead to allow another groan in the affirmative, James buried his head further into the pillow on Lily's bed, wondering what he had done to deserve this.

"Not that I'm ungrateful," James began, his voice muffled and shaky from Lily's ministrations, "but did I do something right?"

From her position atop his hips, James heard the vixen laugh again.

"I just missed you today, that's all," she said gently, although James didn't miss the grin in her voice.

"Missed me?"

"Mmmmm...I haven't seen you all day."

Jerking, as he felt a small kiss being placed upon his shoulder, James tried to turn around to reciprocate the gesture but was stopped.

"Ah, ah, ah. I'm not done yet."

Repositioning his head back into the pillow that smelt undoubtedly like Lily's hair, James felt himself drift in and out of consciousness.

"Evans?" he asked sleepily.

"Mmm?"

"What's the deal with you and Snive...eh, Snape?"

The hands on his back slowed.

"What do you mean?" she asked cautiously, a few fingernails now making their way down his back.

"Nothing really," he lied, feeling slightly more awake. "Just, I saw you arguing today in potions."

A heavy sigh greeted him.

"There is no deal with me and Snape, Potter," Lily answered, her voice sounding hard. "Old habits die hard, that's all."

"Habits?"

"It's hard not to argue with him when he brings up certain...things."

"Like what?" James questioned warily, feeling the knots that had dissipated from his back now forming in his stomach.

"Just things from the past."

"Like when you two used to shag," he put out courageously, every hair on his neck standing up waiting for her answer.

The hands slipped for a moment before recovering themselves.

"Heh...funny, Potter."

He succeeded in turning around this time, now staring up at her, perched on his midsection.

"Seriously though...you didn't sleep with him...right?"

She was refusing to look at him.

"Lily," he bit out, a feeling of alarm hurriedly building within.

Her eyes snapped back.

"Why do you care?" she asked earnestly, gazing down at him, her red tendrils curling onto her chest.

"Because-...-I just do," he said after a moment, wondering why when Lily Evans was straddling him, they were talking about Snivellous of all things.

"I sleep with a lot of guys," Lily continued, her hands now rubbing at his chest. "What difference does Snape make?"

"It just does," James said defensively, ignoring the feeling of her hands. "He's a prat. And you're much better than he is...I just can't stand the idea of his mucky paws..."

She cut him off quickly, her head now wedged in between his shoulder and head, nipping and licking at his neck.

"You make it very difficult for a girl to think when you're not wearing any shirt, Potter," she said coyly, a shy lick placing itself below his ear. "It's not really fair."

"Hmmm," James intoned, allowing her hands to guide him back round to lying on his front.

Deciding that, for whatever reason, she was unwilling to talk about Snape, James let it go. He'd have to be insane to interrupt a perfectly good back massage all for the sake of an argument over Snivellous.

He'd weasel it out of her later anyways.

Amongst other things.

* * *

Alexei Fedorov was going to cause trouble at this school. Remus could feel it.

Watching a gaggle of girls follow the new Russian exchange student down the hall and into the charms classroom, the werewolf's heart sank.

He'd hoped with all his heart that the boy wouldn't be in seventh year. Or that he'd take a different class schedule than the Marauders and most of all Lily...but no success. Dumbledore had announced his arrival this morning and already the whole school was in a frenzy.

Sirius had already written him off as some foreign pansy, clearly not put out by the small percentage of his girls that would inevitably drift over to Alexei's 'side'. James had barely said a word, his gaze still focused on Snape across the hall who was in turn glaring at Lily who, herself, seemed oblivious to all of this, instead choosing to chat nonchalantly with Marlene.

Remus was sure James's attention would be on their new addition before the day was out.

Giving up on his thoughts, Remus moved into the classroom and readied himself for what was to follow.

"Ah!" Flitwick squeaked, clapping his hands together. "You must be Mr. Fedorov," he said joyously, as the new boy sashayed up to the front to shake hands with the professor.

"Yes," the boy said in his thick Russian accent, clasping Flitwick's hand, as Remus witnessed James roll his eyes. "I am most pleased to be here."

"Good, good. Now, Professor Dumbledore informs me that you will be spending sometime in each house. May I recommend that you start within my own house of Ravenclaw. We will make you feel most welcome."

A small but strained smile graced the boys face, as he regarded Flitwick. "I am to spend today with my fellow peers. After then I will decide."

"Alright, alright," Flitwick conceded happily, patting the boy on the back. "I see you are not to be persuaded. Go on, take a seat. Eh...over there, beside Mr Potter and Mr Black. I'm sure they'll acquaint you with the ways of the school properly."

Remus groaned as he felt Sirius chuckle beside him.

"Ten galleons he comes onto Moony."

"Spasiba," Alexei said shortly, before gracefully moving to their bench.

Nodding at them all briefly, Alexei took his seat beside James and opened his text book saying nothing further.

It was later on when they were all making their way down the corridor towards Transfiguration when Alexei spoke again.

"What house are you a part of?" he asked, gesturing to them all.

"We're all in Gryffindor, mate," Sirius said lazily through a yawn.

"Is that good?"

"Best one there is," Sirius replied again. "You'd be better off sticking with us whilst you here, Feddy. We'll show you what Hogwarts is really about," he added with a wink.

"About?" Alexei asked, looking only mildly put out by Sirius's nickname.

"Yeah, about. Like Hogsmeade, Quidditch...girls," Sirius said, and Remus could hear the question in his voice. "Because...you like girls, right, Feddy?"

They had now stopped outside of the classroom whilst Alexei seemed to be considering this question; meanwhile James had a hysteria fit in the background.

"Sirius," came a tutting voice, "what are you doing to this poor boy?"

Remus felt his heart sink.

Lily was standing against the wall opposite, regarding them all with a demure smirk.

"Evans, honey," Sirius replied jauntily, turning to look at her. "I'm just trying to help Feddy out for when we fix him up."

"Fix me up?" Alexei put out, his eyes moving from Sirius to Lily.

"Alexei, right?" Lily said gently, moving towards him.

Transfixed, Alexei nodded slowly.

"Lily Evans," she said, allowing him press a kiss to her hand. "If you ever get bored of this lot, just come find me. I'm sure I could help you out with anything you need."

Seemingly unable to speak, Alexei just nodded again as Lily gave them all a curt nod and moved into the classroom.

Out of the corner of his eye Remus noted that James was pouting against the wall, huffing and puffing a little.

"I like her," Alexei said eventually, gazing into the classroom after Lily.

Groaning, James threw his hands into the air.

"Of course you do," Sirius said dryly, sharing a look with James. "Well, go on. Get going," he said abruptly, shoving Alexei head first into the classroom.

"Can't there be one bloody guy in the school who doesn't want to shag her?" James hissed exasperatedly, as the traditional four lingered by the doorway.

"Hello?" Remus said, waving his hand in front of James's face.

James's look said that clearly he didn't count.

"Don't worry, Prongs," Sirius said moving into the classroom where Alexei was continuing to stare a Lily from across the room. "What's one more?"

* * *

Much to James's annoyance, Marlene and Lily spent the whole of transfiguration passing notes to one another- probably about the new Russian golden boy.

He would have been able to deal with the furore surrounding Alexei if it weren't for the fact that the bloody boy kept following them everywhere- even to Quidditch practise. It was driving him mad.

Why did they need an exchange student!

For seven years, no one had even glimpsed at Hogwarts from another country and _now_, just as he was about to escape unscathed...

"Eugh," James hissed, throwing himself down onto the couch in the Head's common room, as Remus and Sirius followed suit. Alexei was in the bathroom.

Seeing the look Sirius was throwing him, James let rip.

"Why did you have to ask him to follow us? I'm about to start ripping my hair out!"

"Why?" Sirius questioned back, lounging easily against the arm rest. "Because it's him that's getting all the looks now and not you...and me?"

Running a hand through his hair, James wondered- once more- why he was friends with Sirius.

As he was about to answer, Sirius opened his mouth.

"Or is it because dearest little Lily seems to be quite interested in our new friend?"

Choosing not to answer, James let his head fall backwards.

"Pryvet," came Alexei's native tongue as he waltzed out of the bathroom whilst James resisted the urge to thump something.

"Moony, what are you doing?" Sirius asked, sounding amused as Remus had, from somewhere, procured a notebook.

"Keeping track," Remus said distractedly, scribbling down onto the parchment. "Now, 'pryvet' means hello? I think...colloquially that is?" he asked Alexei, his quill poised.

"Da," replied Alexei shortly, sounding slightly confused.

"And... 'da'...is yes," Remus continued steadfastly still scribbling.

"I am losing the will to live," James cried out, from his place on the couch.

Sitting down now, Alexei regarded them all.

"Serious..." he began thickly.

"Eh..._Sirius_..."

"Okay...Sirius," Alexei tested out. "The girl...with the flaming hair. Could you fix me up with her?"

Letting out a bark of laughter, Sirius eyed Alexei through amusement.

"Lily? I don't think you'll need too much help with that one mate," he said easily, smiling now at James.

"Bloody brilliant," James huffed, stuffing his head into his hands.

"You do not look happy," Alexei stated oddly, peering over at him.

"No shit."

"You are with Lily?"

Uncovering his face, James eyed the Russian.

"Not exactly."

Alexei looked confused for a moment before turning to Sirius for an answer.

"Let's just say, James and Lily are 'intimate friends'," Sirius clarified with a wink.

"Intimate?" Alexei asked, his brow furrowing.

"Yes, intimate, Feddy. Lily Evans has lots of 'intimate friends'."

"Including you," Remus put in slyly as Sirius ignored.

Looking around the room swiftly, Alexei leaned into the group as though he had some huge secret to depart.

"You are both intimate with this woman...?"

Both James and Sirius nodded.

Leaning back, Alexei looked to the fire as the marauders exchanged looks.

"I do not think I like her so much, anymore," Alexei said firmly after a while.

Astonished, James looked to the boy.

"No?"

"No...she is a whore."

Hearing some young, good-looking, single boy referring to Lily Evans as a whore wasn't exactly a common occurrence within James Potter's life and thus resulted in him laughing his head off.

"Really?" he asked through his laughter. "That's what you think?"

"Da."

"Wow," Sirius let out, sounding impressed, before looking to James. "What d'you know? The Russian doesn't like Evans."

"Mmmmm," James replied happily, folding his arms behind his head. "This should be interesting."

"You should not like her either," Alexei added, pointing a delicate finger at Sirius and James. "A man should be with woman who respects him. Who allows only him to be intimate with her."

"Hogwarts isn't exactly well known for monogamy, Alexei," Remus stated wisely, through a small smirk.

"And neither is Lily," Sirius put in defensively. "Why should she stick with just one man, either? I've yet to meet one that deserves her."

James coughed loudly as Sirius gave him a permissive look, waving away his indignation.

"Net, net," Alexei said firmly as Remus started writing again. "It is her who does not deserve good man. She will end unhappy, when she realise no good man want her."

"Listen here, Fedorov," Sirius bit out angrily, clenching his fists. "Lily Evans actually has to be one of the best fucking people I know and if you think I'm going to let some jumped up..."

"Okay!" Remus cut in abruptly, standing up and throwing Sirius a look. "I guess I better show Alexei where the dorms are. It's getting a bit late."

"I don't think I stay in Gryffindor anymore," Alexei said coldly, also standing up. "I seem to like Ravenclaw better after all."

"Right, well, Ravenclaw it is," Remus replied uncomfortably. "Follow me, Alexei."

Giving them one last cold look, Alexei exited the room after Remus.

"Fucking jumped up, Russian prick," Sirius gritted, eyeing the portrait hole. "Who the hell does he think he is?"

Shrugging his shoulders, James let out a noncommittal noise.

"And you!" Sirius continued, rounding on him. "Why the fuck didn't you say anything? Letting him talk about Lily like that!"

Lounging back, James ruffled his hair.

"I know he's an ass, Padfoot," James droned, acknowledging the burn that had ignited in his stomach as Alexei had talked. "I just think Lily could do with being taking down a peg or two. The asshole Russian seems like the right guy to do that."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I just think this guy will...even the game a little bit, is all."

"You're a fucking moron, Prongs, you know that?"

"Yeah, yeah..."

* * *

She was in her uniform again.

Not that their last lesson hadn't done much to approve his opinion of the Hogwarts female dress code, but still...he was getting a bit antsy. He wanted the lingerie. The one picked especially for him...

"You look disappointed, baby," Lily said through a small pout that made James's hair stand up.

Leaning against the doorway, James looked upon her hungrily.

"Not disappointed...I just..."

"You just want your own special show, is that it?" she asked cheekily, sweeping her hair over her shoulder.

Not having the disposition to deny the obvious, James gave her his trademark smirk.

"You're close," she replied gently. "I promise. Just a little further..."

Slightly relieved, James moved towards Lily who was already seated on the bed.

"So...lesson two," he stated suavely, sitting down opposite her and taking her hand. Examining the pale, delicate bones of her wrist, he deftly swept a diamond tennis bracelet onto her arm. Smirking as she gasped, he released his grip to allow her to examine the gift.

"You excel yourself, Potter," she breathed, her eyes transfixed on the jewels adorning her limb.

"I try," he responded cockily, allowing himself a small kiss underneath her ear, revelling in her lilac scent. "So, what is today's task?"

Chuckling, Lily nuzzled his neck a little before answering.

"I was thinking about some good old fashioned broom cupboard stuff, actually," she murmured, nipping at his earlobe.

"Broom cupboard, eh?" he quipped, resisting the urge to groan as she continued, her tongue laving at him deliciously.

Smiling, he realised that this lesson would be much more suited to him. Broom cupboards were his bread and butter- vintage James Potter. The stuff he used to toy around with when he was fifth year.

"Sounds good."

Another small laugh.

"Good," Lily whispered, removing her head from his neck. "Come find me in five minutes."

Frowning as she stood up, James folded his arms.

"Where are you going?"

"I thought we agreed..."

Realising her train of thought, James smirked.

"Alright," he agreed cockily, tugging at her skirt. "Five minutes?"

Nodding, she moved towards the door.

"Wait! How will I know where to find you?"

A simper.

"You have your map, don't you?"

His stomach lurched, as his eyes widened.

"How do you know about that?" he yelped, wondering how much else she knew.

Leaning against the doorway, she regarded him through seductive eyes.

"You'll find Sirius can be very talkative when my mouth is otherwise engaged..."

"That fucking idiot...what else has he told you?"

She attempted to exit through a knowing smile.

"Hang on...wait...you do that?"

Letting out a bark of laughter, Lily's eyes glistened.

"Five minutes, Potter."

* * *

After a suitable amount of time had passed, James whipped out the map and found Lily to be situated in a secluded broom closet, tucked away on the fourth floor.

He had used this one before; generally when the girl he was seeing there wasn't exactly single...few people knew its location due to the fact that a large statue blocked the cul de sac it was settled in.

Whistling as he walked down, James thought about what he was actually doing with Lily Evans.

Or more importantly, what she was doing with him.

Remus was right- he did spend an inordinate amount of time punishing guys who had slept with her. But that was before he was allowed access. Now...he didn't seem to mind her 'openness'. It didn't quite rub in his face the same way now that he was one of the blessed few.

But was Alexei right? Should he be looking for a girl who would devote herself only to him? There were many that would happily apply for the job, he knew that. He usually ended up losing most of his 'conquests' because they realised that he wouldn't give up other girls...wouldn't give up Lily.

The problem was he didn't actually want a girlfriend. He liked being able to fool around with a girl and then be able to go back to his mates, spend time with them. Not having to worry about dates or anniversaries or 'feelings'.

Feelings were the reason half the people in Hogwarts were unhappy. Much easier just to have a few dependable girls who expected nothing from him other than a couple of visits a month. Smiling as he reached his conclusion- James Potter didn't like doubt- he moved towards the broom cupboard.

Giving a little knock to announce his arrival, he opened the door gently. Immediately, his senses were flooded with the scent of lilac, hazing his brain- removing all previous thoughts. Gripping the frame, he pulled himself towards the dimly lit space, his eyes squinting in their attempts to find his temptress.

"Shut the door."

Her voice drifted gently through the air, blissfully surrounding his ears as he complied with her request.

Allowing his eyes to wander, he noticed the ten or so small tea lights, perched on a ledge, flickering and giving him vision. Enough vision to notice the outline of a person, titled slightly from their leaning stance against the wall.

"Come here," she requested again, as James felt his stomach twist in anticipation. Moving towards her, he found that he could now see her face- the lights cleverly placed so as to deny view to any other part of her body. Standing in front of her, he allowed himself to get lost in her green eyes- their beauty heightened by the dim light.

Women were usually very nice to look at, but James had to admit that whoever was up there had done a spectacular job when it came to Lily Evans. He was finding it hard at the moment to think of someone who outranked her in beauty...wit...intelligence...

She was just a little too perfect.

It made James very nervous as he gazed into her green eyes when the only thought that entered his head was 'mine'.

His fingers drifted up to her chin, grazing the soft skin there and titling her lips to his.

He kissed her, because lesson be damned, she had lured him into a dim broom cupboard, looked at him like that- allowed him to drown in her eyes. How was he expected not to kiss her?

Their lips met in a soft exchange, brushing against each other in a gentle union. His kisses with Lily Evans were usually fierce...heady. But for some reason, tonight- he did not want her like that.

The sweetness of her mouth greeted him as his tongue swept over her lips. Unsurely, she gave him access and he could tell that she was not expecting this either- this tenderness between the two of them. It had thrown them both off guard. But as his heavy breathing mixed with hers, James realised that this closeness with her was exciting him to a far higher degree than ever before. Their slowness spoke of time. All the time that they had together. He wanted her in every way possible- wanted to taste, touch and know her – all of her, and he had all the time in the world to explore. It ignited a fervour in him that travelled straight to his groin. The thoughts swirling in his head caused him to back her further against the wall, trapping her- keeping her all to himself. Because even if it would change the moment they left that broom cupboard, right now- she was his.

Eager to move their exchange further, James groped blindly in the dark, until his fingers ghosted over her hips and were met with nothing but soft, delicate skin.

Their kiss slowed as James tried to comprehend what his eyes could not see. Allowing his fingertips to drift upwards, his brain misfired as the soft flesh continued underneath his touch until soon he was feeling mid riff...ribs...the underside of her round breasts.

Breaking the kiss in a dull shock, James was met with a victorious smirk and a pair of flashing eyes.

"Evans," he breathed, his fingers still moving downwards to confirm that all he would find were those glistening thighs that filled his dreams. "What is today's task?"

Gripping his hand in hers, Lily pulled his fingertips upwards, past soft curls, across her stomach, dragging them between her breasts and up to her neck to finish their journey as she peppered them with soft kisses.

"Lips," she whispered against his fingers. "Today is about lips. I want to see what you can do."

"Any chance we can turn on the lights?" he dared, his other hand moving to grip her thigh, revelling in the thought that she was completely naked before him...

She laughed a little.

"Sorry, James," she began, her own lips now seeking out his neck. "This is also about instincts. I want to see what you can do when your eyes aren't allowed into the equation."

"And I'm allowed to touch...?" he questioned briefly, checking the boundaries.

"Anywhere you want."

Usually such a phrase uttered by Lily Evans would have thrown him into a quick frenzy...but not tonight. Tonight, he had to take this slow. After all...she was allowing him complete access. And he intended to find out everything he could.

* * *

About half an hour later, James Potter had Lily Evans pinioned and breathless against the broom cupboard wall. As it turned out, James was quite receptive to being allowed full access to the body of his dreams and as such, was surprisingly willing to put the added extra effort in to ensure that any doubts Lily may have had about his prowess were dispelled.

From the way she was panting and heaving, James would say they had been.

Smirking up at her from his place between her legs, James placed another delicate lick on her inner thigh warranting another breathy moan. Allowing his hands to course up, running along her hips and waist, James mouth followed their path, nipping and licking gently at her sweet skin, revelling in her needy whimpers. Finally standing up, his fingers traced back downwards over the firm rotund flesh he found behind her, linking underneath her whilst probing and rubbing at her now slick thighs. Placing another searing kiss against her bruised, full lips- her breath coming hot and heavy against his mouth, James inched his fingers towards her centre, only to stop as he felt her stiffen in his arms.

"What's wrong?"

"We have to stop," she murmured against his neck, inhaling deeply.

"Why?" he asked through a smirk, knowing full well it was because she was close to allowing him access to _every_ inch of her.

"You're rather better at this than I expected," Lily answered through a gasp, as James's fingertips continued on their slow journey. "If we don't stop now, I'll...I'll..." she cut herself off with a whimper as James bit down hard onto her pulse point, making her legs buckle as he wrapped an arm around her waist to hold her up.

"You'll let me go from lesson two to say...lesson ten," James answered for her, still rubbing his fingers up and down her inner thigh, teasing her in the worst way.

Letting out a low growl, Lily shoved him from her harshly.

James smirked as his back hit the opposite wall. The cornered cat was back again. He could see her inner conflict in her eyes- debating whether or not succumbing to him was worth the amount of jewellery she would lose in return.

Suddenly her eyes flashed and everything was decided.

Launching herself at him, Lily wrapped her arms quickly around his neck, pulling him down towards her lips. Replying eagerly, James encircled her with his own arms, pulling her flush against him and fixing one hand into her tangled mess of hair.

Her moans drifted in and out of his ears, mingling with his own grunts as she rubbed herself against him, her fingers clutching at his white shirt before pulling it open.

Pulling his lips from hers, James moved his mouth downwards from her neck to her shoulders towards her breasts, his hand latching themselves onto soft, full flesh they encountered there, his tongue lapping his between them.

His name escaped from her lips in a wanton cry and this time James had the pleasure of knowing that he had forced her to breathe his name in a gratuitous need for fulfilment.

Trying not to think about how badly he wanted her- how desperate he was for the same fulfilment she sought, James turned her body round to pin her against the wall once more. Ignoring the scolding feeling in his brain as her name was moaned breathily from his own lips, James focused instead on the excitement building as her hand went for his trouser buckle.

BANG, BANG!

Two sharp knocks on the door interrupted them as both teenagers stilled in their frenzied actions.

"Open up! Prefect!"

Rolling his eyes at the sound of Remus's voice, James pressed his fingernails into Lily's skin in frustration.

"Moony, fuck off! I'm busy," he yelled towards the door, deciding that a plan to find new friends needed to be put into action as quickly as possible.

"Whoever is in there better come out now!"

"REMUS!" James barked back, feeling thoroughly annoyed. "FUCK OFF!"

Clearly getting the message, James heard Remus curse lowly, before moving away.

Turning back to Lily, James saw her eyes shifting downwards, to where his hands were clasped around her thighs.

"Shit," she whispered, her eyes now darting back and forth between their bodies and his face.

"What's wrong?" he asked, confused as to what had caused this marked change in demeanour. "Lily," he persisted when she didn't look at him, tilting her chin to his face.

"Fuck," she swore again, suddenly pushing him off of her.

Before he could ask what was wrong again, she was bundling him towards the door, pushing and shoving and forcing his hands from her any way she could.

"Lily- wh-what are you...?"

His eyes were met with the bright light of the hallway before he could do so much as think. Squinting as the beams hit his face, he jumped when the broom cupboard door slammed shut behind him.

"Prongs?"

Recognising Remus's voice, James raised his hand above his eyes to allow himself a better view.

"Moony?"

Remus came into vision, just as James remembered he was shirtless and standing in the middle of the hallway.

"Sorry for interrupting you," Remus said awkwardly, not looking at him. "Sirius said you were in the Heads on one of your 'Lily lessons', so I didn't really expect you to be..."

"That _was_ Lily in there," James cut him off grumpily, rubbing his arms to keep out the cold. "...our lesson took a little detour."

Nodding in understanding, Remus looked at him apologetically.

"Sorry..." he said again. "If I'd known it was Lily I wouldn't have..."

"How could you have known? Besides, seems like she's fucking changed her mind now for some bloody reason," James put in, eyeing the broom closet door in annoyance.

Before Remus could open his mouth, the broom cupboard door flew open and Lily appeared from within, charging away from them both, now fully dressed.

"Lily!" James called, tripping into the closet to retrieve his shirt. "Lily!"

"What's wrong with her?" Remus asked, sounding confused, his eyes following Lily as she ran towards the stairwell.

"Not a fucking clue," James mumbled harshly, throwing his shirt on and stumbling after her.

He and Remus arrived at the Heads Common Room, just in time to witness the portrait hole slam closed. Throwing the entrance ajar, James strode into the Common room just before Lily could run up the stairs to her room. Thanks to his quick reflexes, he caught her by the upper arm and pulled her back down to his level.

"What the hell was that about?" he asked to his panting Head Girl, his grip on her arm tightening.

"What do you mean?" she questioned back defensively, her eyes fixing on his own with a glare.

"You know bloody well what I mean!"

"I've no idea what you're talking about, Potter," Lily hissed, trying to free her arm. "The lesson was over so I left."

"Left? Bloody bolted, you mean!" James fought on, not letting up on his grip.

"It was past curfew!"

A cocky laugh of indignation escaped his lips.

"Don't give me that shit, Evans. We were _this_ close to shagging and you know it," he breathed, trying to stare her down.

Her eyes levelled with his defiantly- a slow lick of her tongue flicked across her lips unconsciously attracting James's attention.

"As if."

Feeling a fire burn in his stomach James growled.

"You're a terrible liar, Evans," he murmured darkly, squeezing her arm to such an extent that he knew he must be leaving bruises but couldn't bring himself to care.

Now it was her turn to laugh.

"You wish, Potter," she breathed, squaring up to him. "Don't blame me if you can't control yourself."

"I had you gagging for it, _Lily_," he bit out, his stomach squirming pleasurably when her eyes darkened in anger. "Two more seconds and I'd have had you bent over, begging for it like every other little whore I know."

A stinging smack against his cheek was the response.

He was brought out of his shock when the tennis bracelet came flying at his chest.

"I have standards, Potter," Lily said quietly, hidden fury below the surface tainting every word. "And you just put yourself well below mine. Congratulations. You just _failed._"

Turning and walking slowly up the stairs, her breathing still heavy, James jumped again as the door to her dorm slammed shut.

Turning around, James winced once more to see that Remus was still standing there, eyeing him with a look that said he was every bit as big of a jackass as he felt.

What had he done?

* * *

Don't worry all you James fans, he isn't going to go running back to her straight away! :P For all of you who are interested in what Alexei looks like, he is heavily based on Russian figure skater Artem Borodulin- Google Image and drool people!- whom I fell in love with at the Winter Olypmics 2010. So you can see how long this character has been in the planning stages for- usually I really hate OC's and try not to write them but unfortunately this story needed at least one!

So, hopefully you are all happy after this long awaited update!- I've already started the next chapter so it won't be too long before its out-

Thanks as ever...

**REVIEW!**


	8. Giving In and Going Steady

Hello everyone-

Usual spiel of apologies for not updating sooner but things have been rubbish recently. I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who reviewed, alerted or favourited the story- it really made my days :)

I suppose what I said at the beginning of the last chapter applies here as well- this is kind of a filler but it gets me where I need to go. I actually quite like the idea that Peter is the Marauder's gossip monger; it amuses me :P

Anyways, I'm hoping to be spurred on to write more by a good amount of reviews *hint hint* so you know what to do :D

Enjoy!

BGWSRS

* * *

He had been avoiding her.

Well...maybe that was a bit harsh; he'd just been consciously spending more time in the Gryffindor Common Room- sleeping in his old dorm bed...eating in the kitchens...missing Prefect Meetings...for the past two weeks.

He had a sneaky suspicion that she was avoiding him as well...

Whenever they had rounds, somebody always turned up in her place citing something like homework or other Head's Duties on her behalf.

Sighing, James allowed his head to drift back onto his old, worn pillow remembering the times he had done so in the past.

In fourth year, when he'd gotten into his first fight with his first girlfriend...over Evans.

In fifth year, when he thought he'd die of unhappiness if she didn't say yes the next time.

In sixth year, when he'd caught a glimpse of her in a serious state of undress and hadn't been able to use his right hand for three weeks afterwards.

And now...

Why was every single bloody situation that he got himself into _her_ fault? Usually, his brain..., well maybe his eyes, were able to convince him that his life was better with her in it. But days like these were the times he remembered how complicated she made everything.

She was shagging his best mate, for fucks sake...why was he still chasing her?

Another sigh escaped his lips, as James thought back over the last two weeks progress. He'd had a relatively woman-free week, and therefore, _surprisingly_, no problems whatsoever. Not that he hadn't met up with his usual girls...he had. He'd just avoided conversation before and afterwards.

He'd went on a date as well. Nothing too huge. Just a simple accompaniment to Hogsmeade that had ended when he'd realised that the girl had an I.Q. on a par with a billywig. Still, if he was honest he'd only done it because he knew it'd get back to Lily. Show that he was going on with his life even though she'd stopped her stupid lessons.

He was _fine_.

Completely.

He'd survived for five years without her prior to this...

Two weeks was _nothing_.

A knock sounded on the dorm door, thankfully interrupting his train of thought that was rapidly heading into 'Grovel' Station, as Peter burst in.

"Mate," he wheezed, leaning against a bedpost. "Mc...McGon..."

"What does she want?" James asked heavily, saving Peter the trouble.

"Meeting...her classroom...now," Peter rasped, now turning an alarming shade of red. "Angry. Go!"

Groaning, James sat up and rubbed underneath his glasses. Swearing coarsely, he traipsed towards the door absolutely relishing the thought of having McGonagall yell at him for the next century.

Arriving outside the Transfiguration classroom, James stopped abruptly. Lily was walking towards him from the opposite end of the hall...her destination? Alarmingly; the same as his.

Ignoring the unusually fast beating of his heart, he smirked in satisfaction as her eyes landed on him, halting her in her tracks.

Their eyes met.

A few tense moments passed.

Just as he had opened his mouth to speak with some undoubtedly suave yet cutting remark, the door swung open revealing a suitably irate Professor.

"Potter. Evans," McGonagall acknowledged sharply, standing aside to allow them entrance.

Offering her his arm, James felt the smug smirk on his face when she rolled her eyes and marched in ahead of him.

Appropriately, there were two chairs looming in front of them as they walked towards the guillotine. James didn't care if he never came out here alive. Just so long as she went before he did.

Taking a seat, he resisted the urge to pull the chair out from underneath Lily as she sat herself down delicately beside him, looking resolutely ahead.

"Well," McGonagall said airily, coming to sit in front of them at her desk. "I trust you know why you are both here?"

Guessing that it had something to do with missed Prefect meetings, James decided against answering, instead flashing a smile in the hope that it would get him off the hook.

No such luck.

When no answer came from Lily either, the Professors mouth thinned.

"Have either of you been ill?"

James shook his head reluctantly as a small "No, Professor," escaped Lily's mouth.

"Bereaved?"

Another shake.

"Presumably," McGonagall continued, her voice louder, "since I have not been informed of your expulsion, I am going to submit to the idea that both of you are still students at this school?"

"Yes, Professor," they both answered quietly.

"Well then, it is with some curiosity that I am forced to ask why the last _three_ prefect meetings have been attended by neither Head Student," she hissed, her eyes boring into each of them, "and have subsequently been chaired by Remus Lupin!"

Silence settled as the Professor waited for an answer.

When none was given, McGonagall responded for them.

"I would not wish for either of you to labour under the delusion that you were given these posts because you were special," Minerva stated sardonically, regarding them through her spectacles. "You are both fine students but neither of you possess qualities that could not be found in some other ambitious pupil from say Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. So if either of you feel that your _busy_ schedules are preventing you from enacting your duties properly, I suggest you say so now."

A small cough was her reply.

"The position of Head Student is a privilege," Professor McGonagall said after a short silence. "It provides a room, a badge and several other licences that normal pupils do not enjoy. It allows Miss Evans to entertain as many _friends_ as she likes in the privacy of her own dorm," she continued, as James snorted aloud whilst Lily flushed a bright red.

His laughter was a mistake, he noted when the transfiguration teacher's eyes swept to him sharply.

"It allows Mister Potter to spend as much time as he wishes pining over Miss Evans's bedroom door," she bit out, causing James to echo Lily's blush.

"But one thing it does not allow is the complete and utter lack of responsibility that both of you have demonstrated these past two weeks!"

Lily opened her mouth to reply in what was undoubtedly a sugary sweet apology but she was cut off by their astute instructor.

"If I hear of either of you abusing your duties any time in the coming school term, you will both be stripped of your rooms, badges- all advantages- and be forced to conduct meetings, patrol corridors and hold detentions under the guise of a normal student," Minerva finished acidly, bearing down upon them both. "Understood?"

"Yes, Professor," James answered, running a hand through his hair.

"It won't happen again," Lily stated apologetically, nodding towards the Professor.

"Good," McGonagall said briefly. "Now get out of my sight before I have one or both of you re-sorted."

Choosing to make his escape upon her suggestion, James moved thankfully towards the door, refusing to look back at Lily knowing that she was just about ready to bite his head off.

He strode down the hallway, wincing when he heard the classroom door bang shut. Still walking, he waited for her voice.

After a few more steps, the silence still echoed.

Whipping around, James growled when he saw her to be flouncing away in the other direction. Whilst the logical part of his brain bemoaned his legs decision to tear after her, the anger in his gut prevented him from making any other choice.

Catching up to her fast pace easily, James pulled on her shoulder.

"So, that's it, is it?" He breathed nastily. "We're just going to ignore each other forever now?"

"Well, I was rather hoping you'd fall off the face of the earth at some point," Lily replied airily, though James didn't miss the contentious sneer on her face.

Stopping in his movements as Lily continued on ahead, James folded his arms.

"I won," he called after her, satisfied when her footsteps stopped. "I won and you know it. Why can't you just admit it?"

Nearly losing all of her grace as she flew back towards him, her eyes flashing, hair streaming behind her, James took just a little moment to remind himself that he was angry with her.

"You didn't win," she gritted, chest heaving. "You lost. You lost control and then you lost your chance at ever having me."

Assuming that she was referring to her body, James didn't bother to contradict her pride.

"Maybe so," he intoned lightly, his gaze not wavering. "But let's face it, Evans. After that night two weeks ago, I could have had you _anywhere _and _anytime_ I wanted," he continued daringly, smirking when the look on her face confirmed his statement. "And that's why you ran. You ran because for the first time in your life, you met someone who you were going to give it to for nothing," James persisted, relishing the pale tone of her face and lips; the wavering determination on her face. "And it was _me_," he said smugly, backing her into the wall. "And you couldn't fucking stand it."

Realising her position, Lily attempted to move but he was too quick for her. Catching her arms, he pinned them above her head, preventing her from escaping.

"You arrogant, little..." Lily began, the old insults creeping back.

"I found your weak spot, love," James cut her off quietly, letting one hand drift under her shirt to her lower back to tease the skin there. As his fingers probed her eyes glazed over...just for a second. Coming back to her senses, James reacted quickly as her knee flew upwards towards his groin. Shutting his legs, he caught the unruly limb in between his.

"You're not the first girl to try that," he whispered, smirking at her as she struggled to free her legs and arms.

"Get your hands off of me," Lily bit out, the tremble in her voice now evident.

Letting out a small laugh, James closed in on her.

"You don't want me to," he stated cockily, brushing his lips against her neck as her breath quickened. "In fact, you don't want me to so badly, that I bet I could take you right now in this hallway and not one bit of you would be crying out for me to stop," he finished, as his fingers drifted under her skirt to rub at the silk lining of her panties.

Smiling noiselessly, when she said nothing as he moved, James decided to dig the knife in a little deeper.

"But," he added, stalling his fingers, "the thing about realising how _easy_ you are, is that I've suddenly decided I don't want you so much anymore."

Feeling her still at his words, James pulled back to admire the angry look on her face.

But it wasn't there.

Looking back, he wished it had been. Because had he seen her angrily glaring back at him, he would have continued as he had meant to; kissed her till she couldn't breathe, stripped her down in the hall, dragged her back to their dorm to shag her senseless for the next three weeks and then write the whole thing off as his life's dream finally realised.

Unfortunately, upon regarding her face, James noticed one thing.

She was shocked.

Lily Evans was genuinely stunned.

Never before in his life had James Potter managed to induce Lily Evans into a state of shock.

He should have just let it go- kissed her like he'd meant to and carried on like he'd planned.

But the pleasurable twisting in his stomach stopped him and the words were out of his mouth before he could even think.

"I'm done with you, Evans," he murmured, removing his hands completely. "Go find some other bloke to torture. You're a bit too boring for me now."

She was standing there, stock still as he walked away. Her face plastered with that deliciously shaken expression.

And even though his groin was yelling at him...

Even though his stomach was lurching on him...

Hell, even though his _heart_ was roaring at him, he kept on walking.

* * *

Unfortunately, despite his stomach, groin and heart all screaming the contrary, James Potter laboured under the delusion that he was shot of Lily Evans for the next three days and that at some point, she would come running back to him.

He'd proclaimed it to Sirius, Remus and Peter that night in their dorm room whilst his so-called 'friends' had nodded sarcastically, rolled eyes and scoffed respectively.

He was done chasing her.

That's what he'd told _everyone_.

Everyone in Gryffindor, everyone in all the other houses...all the teachers. Even word had gotten back to ol' Snivelly, who'd proceeded to look mildly surprised before carrying on about his daily business.

Yes, everyone knew.

So, as he lay back on his bed, eyeing his dorm room ceiling for what seemed like the fiftieth time this week, James desperately tried to ignore the small part of his brain asking "I wonder what Lily is up to right now?"

Most likely she was now eating sour grapes out of the bellybutton of some fifth year.

But if she wanted to do that, she could do that. He didn't care. What business was it of his how she spent her time? He was done with her.

So that meant no more caring about her, her virginal conquests and her little red closet.

He didn't care.

_He didn't. _

"How's the cold turkey going?" came Sirius's voice, interrupting his stream of thoughts as he swaggered into the room.

"Perfectly fine," James said, heinously aware of how strained his voice sounded. Sirius's laughter indicated that he was too.

"Good," he answered cheerily. "I'm glad you're happy."

"I am," James replied steadily. "Very."

"Still though," Sirius continued, now lounging on his own bed, examining his fingernails. "Doesn't explain the severe lack of women around you recently, does it?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I'm talking about the fact that I've yet to see you shag another bird since you gave up on she-who-must-not-be-named," he joked, winking at James. "'Tis a sorry state of affairs, Prongs."

"Just because I've decided that I need a break from women altogether, doesn't mean that there's anything wrong, Padfoot," James retorted, throwing his hands behind his head in an attempt to seem relaxed. "I am merely enjoying a hassle-free life."

"Of course you are," Sirius said through a sigh, lying down to mimic James. "Speaking of which, have you spoken to Lily at all?"

"Nope," James said abruptly.

"I think you should, Prongs," he continued, sounding wise. "It might be an idea to tell her that you're not taking 'lessons' anymore. After all, it's the only gentlemanly thing to do in the situation."

James sat up.

"Padfoot," he began slowly, running a hand nervously through his hair. "I did tell her."

Sirius snorted.

"Sure you did, Prongs."

"I _did_," James hissed back, throwing his hands in the air.

"She must have taken it _very_ well," Sirius said lackadaisically, his eyes shutting.

James's heart stopped.

"Sirius," he started oddly, prompting his best friend to sit up. "Do you mean...are you saying that she...that Lily didn't mention anything about our fight?"

"You two fought?"

With a string of curse words, James fell back onto his bed, but not before punching the bed post as hard as he could.

"Mate...," Sirius struggled, coming over to sit on the bed beside James's, "she didn't mention anything. She hasn't said two words about you these past three days."

"Fucking Merlin!" James swore, sitting up to face Sirius. "She hasn't said a _thing?_ Not one thing about me?"

Sirius shook his head.

"She doesn't care," James breathed dazedly. "We're not 'us' anymore, and she doesn't care."

"Prongs, just to be clear," Sirius opened, folding his arms. "What did you two fight about?"

Head in his hands, James tried to take it all in.

He hadn't expected to have to tell anyone what he'd said. He'd expected that thanks to Lily and her gaggle of bitchy friends it would have been halfway around the school before it was three seconds out of his mouth.

He'd thought she would have done nothing but complain, moan and shout about him for the next six months...like she used to, in fifth year.

Deciding to answer Sirius's question, James lifted what now felt like his very heavy head.

"I, eh..." he replied slowly, knowing that Sirius probably wouldn't take to what he was about to say very kindly. "I tried to have sex with her in a broom closet, I called her a whore, I put a whole pile of bruises on her upper arm, I avoided her for two weeks then I felt her up in the hallway before telling her she was easy, used up and I didn't want her anymore."

James waited for the punch.

None came. Instead, Sirius was sitting there, looking at him with a smirk on his face.

"You're a fucking moron, you know that Prongs," he said cheerfully, through a bark of laughter. "Just when I think you can't get anymore stupid, you go and do something to prove me wrong."

"You're not angry?"

Sirius laughed again.

"Why would I be? You think she hasn't been told that shit a million times before by guys who are pissed because she won't put out?" Sirius jested, before giving James a forgiving smile. "Yourself exempted, of course."

"So, she really doesn't care?" James asked timidly, feeling dread rise in his stomach.

"Prongs, I would seriously doubt she even lost an eyelash over this."

"Shit," James bit out, lying back on his bed. "What the fuck was I thinking? _Of course_ she doesn't care. Why would she? She has ten other guys willing to take my place."

"Twenty, at least."

"Mate, what am I going to do?"

Sirius regarded him sceptically.

"You want her back? I thought you were 'done'."

"Of course I'm not done!" James spat, looking at Sirius like he was crazy. "Why the hell would I be done? I haven't been _done_ for the past five years, why would I be done now!"

Smirking, Sirius gave him an 'I knew it' look.

"I just thought that she would come to _me_ for once," he relented, rubbing his forehead in frustration.

"Prongs, I don't mean to gloat but, Lily's not like that," Sirius replied, shaking his head. "She was never going to come running back to you...especially after what you said. This isn't the first time you've said you were done with her. She's wise to your game by now, mate."

Giving a surrendering laugh, James contemplated the fact that he was going to have to do some grovelling if he wanted to get back in. Not that he was adverse to a little grovelling; it had helped immensely when explaining to Dumbledore why he had exploded custard all over Filch for seventh time in what was now known as "The Annual 'Cover Filch in Custard' Extravaganza."

It was just that he had to grovel to _her. _

He could picture her now.

Her smug little grin as he walked in through the door, knowing that he was about to apologise first, _as always_.

Her simpering looks as he offered her his sincerest regrets about what he had said, how untrue it was...

And the light in her eyes when he promised her nothing less than the value of his soul if she would take him back...

Yes, he could see it all now. And it made him feel nauseous.

"Have you thought about a big apology?" Sirius cut in, interrupting his sickening daydream. "Like a _big_ one. One of the ones you would've done back in the old days."

Smiling from reminiscence, James weighed up the value of jumping onto the teacher's table in the Great Hall and begging her to forgive him in front of all their peers.

"I don't think that's going to work this time, Padfoot," James replied dejectedly. "She was never much fond of those back in the day- I don't see why it would have changed now."

Acquiescing, Sirius nodded contemplatively.

"Nope," James continued doggedly. "This time...I think it's going to have to be the real deal."

* * *

Holding his breath all the way down to the Head's dorms, James tried desperately to push his mind the direction of what he was going to say. It wouldn't do any good to just march in unprepared- his mind tended to wander when it came to Evans and that usually led to disaster.

He supposed a few well placed compliments wouldn't hurt, along with some embarrassingly honest revelations about his own inadequacy without her teachings...

Yes, flattery and self-depredation... that was the way to get back into her good books.

Arriving at his destination, James frowned when he found it lying open. If Lily had been living there she would have never left the door open on purpose...

Maybe she was actively avoiding him as well this time.

Entering the common room, James's breath caught in his throat as he witnessed the disarray it was in; pillows flung everywhere, books lying open and haphazardly thrown onto the floor whilst the couch, though not completely overturned was facing the wrong way and halfway across the floor instead of in front of the fire.

"Hello?" James called cautiously, moving towards the centre of the room slowly, his wand now out and pointed. "Lily?"

"What do you want?" came Lily's shaky voice out of nowhere, as James whipped around to find her sitting by the door, her wand by her side, tears streaming down her face.

"Merlin, Lily," he whispered in shock at finding her in such a state. He moved towards her quickly before kneeling down in front of her. "Lily, what happened?"

The tears continued to fall, as Lily gave him a weak, defeated smile.

"Potter," she forced out, her voice sounding fragile. "What do you want?"

Ignoring her question once more, James eyed her disarrayed appearance; her shirt un-tucked and creased, hair frizzy and unkempt...this was not the Lily Evans he knew.

"Lily..." he began, feeling a terrible burden of guilt bubbling in his stomach. "I didn't do this? With what I said, did I?" he asked quickly, wiping a few tears from her nose. "Because, I didn't mean it, Lil. Not one bit. You know what I'm like...always talking shite..."

He was interrupted as she let out a small, amused laugh.

"Arrogant to the end, Potter," she stated softly, looking down at her hands- fiddling with her skirt.

Refusing to give up, James's fingers involuntarily twirled around her lose tendrils forcing her to look at him.

"Lily, please," he tried again, "tell me what's wrong. Is it something I can help with...because I'll do anything..."

James was cut off once more by the sound of approaching footsteps. Frowning when he saw Lily wince, he remained where he was, long after the perpetrator had entered the room...long after he suddenly knew why she was crying.

How was he stupid enough to even consider the possibility that she had been crying like that over him? There was only one person in the world that she even cared about enough to make her cry like that...and it wasn't him.

Ignoring the jealously building in his stomach, James was about to speak and tell Snape to get the hell out of his dorm whenever Lily interrupted him.

"I thought I told you not to come back, Snape," Lily bit out, sounding much stronger than she had a moment ago, her eyes flashing angrily.

Snape turned around quickly to witness the two of them; Lily sitting down on the floor, James crouched in front of her.

"I brought you some water," he said steadily, gesturing to the glass in his hands, his eyes acknowledging and yet somehow ignoring James's presence.

"I told you I didn't want any," Lily hissed back, picking up her wand as James moved to allow her to stand up.

"You were upset..."

"I was fine when you left!"

"Snape, why don't you just go," James put in, miraculously managing to keep the desire to punch the scumbag several times over for hurting Lily under wraps.

"This doesn't concern you, Potter," Snape said calmly, his eyes not wavering from Lily's. "It is you who should go."

"I want him to stay," Lily answered for him boldly, igniting a fire in Severus's eyes. "I'll need his help finishing what we started."

Rolling his eyes and sighing, Snape regarded her sardonically before a look of guilt crossed his face.

"Lily, please," he said quietly, unsuccessfully trying to stop James from hearing his words. "I don't want to fight anymore."

A little shocked at his admission, James looked around the room eyeing the chaotic state it was in, marvelling at the fact that they had done this by duelling.

Clutching her wand tightly, Lily flushed a deeper shade of red.

"Oh, you don't!" She said loudly, raising her wand. "Well that's unlucky, 'cause I do! _Wingardium Leviosa!"_

Almost immediately, Snape found himself plastered up against the brick wall, five feet off the ground.

"Lily!" he admonished, his eyes filled with some emotion James couldn't place. The vindictiveness in Lily's eyes James recognised very well. "Let me down!"

"Sorry, Sev," Lily sneered sarcastically, "Don't really feel like it. Well," she continued turning to James, her wand still poised. The tears still hadn't stopped, but the weakness was gone. "Don't just stand there, Potter! Isn't this what you've always wanted? _Snivellous _on a platter? Well, go ahead. I'm not going to stop you this time."

An uncomfortable feeling rose in James's stomach as he looked at Lily.

This wasn't her.

This wasn't the Lily Evans that he knew.

"Lily," he said quietly, drawing her attention back from Snape. "Lily, what are you doing?"

"Oh, _now_ you want to be reasonable," she spat, glaring at him. "Where's arrogant, prick Potter from fifth year when I need him?"

"Trust me, Lil," James replied shakily, moving towards her slowly. "There's nothing more I'd like better than to tear him apart for making you cry...but this- this isn't you, Lily," he continued, placing his hand on top of her arm. "I know you're angry. But this isn't Lily Evans talking to me right now."

Her eyes wavered, as did her wand.

Snape slipped down the brick a little but still remained aloft.

"Lily," James tried again, his voice harsher. "Let him down."

"How did we get to this?" she asked oddly, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth ruined by the presence of so many tears. "How did we get to the place where you're yelling at me for bullying other students?"

"I don't doubt he's done everything to deserve it, Red," James responded affectionately, allowing a hand to trace up to her cheek and wipe away the tears there. "But you're better than this. Who's going to keep me in line if you're not?" he added daringly, giving her cheek a small pinch.

With a delicate laugh, Lily smiled at him tenderly- a moment that was interrupted unceremoniously as Snape fell to the floor with a loud thump.

Picking himself up, Snape moved forward to reason with Lily, his mouth already half open...but James got there first.

"Alright, _Severus_," he began bitingly, stepping in front of Lily to block her from Snape. "Seeing as how _I'm_ Head Boy and seeing as how you're currently unwelcome in _my_ rooms, I'm going to have to ask you to get the hell out."

Rolling his eyes, Snape tried to get past to Lily.

"Unfortunately, the Head Girl isn't available right now," James said loudly, shoving Snape back before grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. "You'll have to call back later." Dragging Snape over to the portrait hole, James flung him out of the door. "Thanks for stopping by."

Slamming the door shut, James turned around to find Lily staring at him with a wry look on her face.

"Just when I think you've gone and changed..." she breathed, shaking her head at him, a smirk tickling her lips

"Hey! James said reprovingly, happy to see her smiling again. "That is a marked improvement, I'll have you know! You were offering me the chance to attack Snape punishment free!"

Helping her push the couch back to its original position, before charming all the books and pillows back to their original places, James flung himself down onto the sofa, allowing Lily to settle herself beside him before he spoke.

"So I don't suppose you're going to tell me what happened?" he asked seriously, as she looked away from him, her eyes directed to her lap.

He sighed.

"I didn't think so."

"James...what happened between Severus and I..." she started uncomfortably, her face strained with indecisiveness, "...it's complicated."

"I gathered that."

"But it's nothing to worry about," Lily added a little more confidently. "I can handle myself."

When he said nothing and just nodded in defeat, Lily tried to smile encouragingly.

"I think I just need to stay away from him for a while, that's all."

Slightly happier, James nodded in cheerful acceptance prompting a laugh from Lily.

"So that'll be one more person you're avoiding to add to your list," James said pointedly, glancing at her to see that she was looking at him fondly.

Coming down to kneel in front of him, she stared up at him, her hands on his knees.

"You're the one person who never gives up on me, James Potter," Lily said gently, her thumbs rubbing circles on his legs. "The one person who I know I'm never getting rid of," she continued cheekily, pinching at his legs, forcing him to smile. "But what you said in the hallway was right."

He opened his mouth to interrupt but she pressed a finger to his lips, preventing him from talking.

"You're just a little bit too good for me, James," she went on earnestly, her green eyes fully open in all their glory. "You could have any girl you want...so go find one who deserves you."

Standing up, she pressed a small, errant kiss to his cheek before moving away to her dormitory.

And he was too shocked to stop her.

* * *

"Sorry, _what_ did she say?"

The incredulous remark came from Sirius just after James had related to him and Remus the incident between himself, Lily and Snape.

"She said I ought to go find a girl who deserves me."

Staring at him like he was insane, Sirius opened and closed his mouth a few times, in an attempt to fully process what James had just said.

"I don't get it either, Padfoot," James said miserably, tugging at his bed covers. "Everything was fine one minute and then the next..."

"Well, you're always talking about taking a break from girls, James," Remus interjected from his bed, "maybe Lily's decided she needs one from boys."

This remark did nothing to assuage James's broken pride forcing him to instead listen to Sirius who was currently looking as dazed as he felt four hours ago.

"No way," Sirius hissed sceptically. "No way! As if she would ever..."

His rebuke was cut off midway as Peter bolted in through the door, breathless and red-faced.

"Did you hear?" he asked breathlessly, gazing round at the three of them.

"Hear what?" Remus responded curiously, looking at Peter like he was some sort of interesting specimen.

"Lily...Lily's..."

Suddenly James was interested.

"Lily's what?"

"She's...she's going steady..."

A dire silence settled over the room, and the only noise that could be heard was Peter's attempts to catch his breath.

As Sirius opened his mouth to object, and James stood up to go find her and prove it wasn't true, Remus stalled them all with one simple question.

"With who?" he asked quietly.

Swallowing hastily, Peter looked at them all, his eyes wide and bulging.

"Alexei Fedorov."

**

* * *

Dun dun dunnnnnnn**...hands up who didn't see that one coming? lol.

**REVIEW!**


	9. Our heroes grow a little

So, I'm not keeping count, but I'm hoping that this is the shortest I've taken between updates!

Thank you soooooo much to everyone who reviewed! Last chapter was the highest count ever! Special thanks to EmeraldFlower who told me to turn on anonymous reviews! :D

Anyways, I've done a chapter plan and I think there will be 15 chapters in total of this story, so we're moving into the countdown now. Chapter 10 is a full blown lemon with a little bit of fluff- *gasp*- I know! and after that its full on drama, so I'm actually really excited to continue writing!

Hope you enjoy this chapter :)

Please Review!

BGWSRS

* * *

"Okay...one, two, three, GO!"

His eyes squeezed closed- an inordinate amount of effort considering the triviality of the game- James flung his forefinger out randomly, hoping to land a winner and avoid Wormtail's eye socket. Opening his lids slowly to the gentle afternoon sun, he squinted for the results.

"Anna Bernstein," Remus observed helpfully.

"Done her," interjected Sirius.

"Seconded," James added.

"Never," mumbled Peter, followed by a similar answer from Remus.

"Your turn, Remus," Sirius continued lackadaisically, reclining easily against the beech tree whilst James flicked uselessly at balled up pieces of paper.

Sighing, Remus closed his eyes- his nose scrunched in displease- before lifting his arm lazily in the least difficult direction.

"Amanda Dennis," was the verdict.

"Done," James stated breezily.

"Done," was his best friend's response.

"Never," Remus said plainly, as Peter resigned himself to mumbling unhappily.

"Alright, my turn," Sirius stated happily, shutting his eyes and pointing.

"Carley Sampson," Remus revealed as Sirius and James grinned.

"Done," came their simultaneous response as Remus and Peter didn't even bother answering, clearly seeing no point. Really, if James was honest this game was purely for the enjoyment of himself and Sirius; timing how long it took for either Remus or Peter to snap.

Peter was just about to take his turn, when Remus's nerve finally broke.

"Merlin, we've been at this for an hour," he moaned, checking his watch irritably. "You've both reached twenty-two. There's no way this is ever going to end."

Clearly unmoved by Remus's annoyance, Peter took his turn anyways.

"Lily Evans."

"Aha!" Sirius yelled triumphantly, as James's gaze moved to the girl at the centre of their attention who was standing solitarily in the surrounding atmosphere. "Done!"

Growling quietly, James rolled his eyes knowing that he couldn't lie about this one.

"Never," he conceded huffily, his defeat not lessened by Remus's and Peter's identical responses. "Despite my best attempts."

Sulkily, he waited for Sirius to declare victory in a loud and annoying way but only silence came. James was about to ask what was wrong when Sirius answered the question for him.

"What the fuck?" his companion breathed oddly, his eyes widened and following some clearly displeasing sight.

"What are you...?" James began but cut himself off just in time as his eyes followed to witness Sirius's own view.

Unfortunately for everybody- more specifically, unfortunately for Remus's ears, Sirius's pride and although he was loathe to admit it -James's heart- Lily Evans was no longer standing solitarily in the light breeze.

The current bane of James's existence had somehow scuttled up behind the lithe, unattainable beauty, clasped his hands around her waist and was presently whispering undoubtedly sweet nothings into her mane of flowing hair.

"I think I'm going to throw up," Sirius remarked, now taking his turn to flick at the balled up parchment. "This just isn't right. It's like Dumbledore having sex. My mind just can't cope with it."

"It is a little odd," Remus admitted, watching the pair curiously. "Lily's never really been one for public displays of affection."

"I wonder what he said to win her over?" was Peter's contribution.

"You and me both," James said darkly, his stomach doing back flips as the happy couple suddenly decided to interlace fingers and wander towards the Marauders languidly.

"Holding hands?" Sirius spat, his eyes still wide at the sight. "What the fuck! Seriously! Did I miss something? Did I miss the part where she became every other girl and he switched to hetero?"

Scoffing pettily, James decided on silence- instead choosing to eye Lily and her beau as she clung to him exactly as a girlfriend would.

"So, does this mean your lessons with her are over?" Peter wondered unhelpfully, gazing at James steadily until the Marauder was forced to answer.

"No idea," he replied truthfully, inwardly acknowledging the fact that Lily hadn't spoken to him properly since a week ago when her relationship with Alexei had been declared. "Probably."

The last week had honestly been the oddest week in James's life considering the fact that he had never known Lily Evans to be in a serious, committed relationship. Furthermore, the serious doubts he had about Lily Evans ever being in a serious, committed relationship had prevented him from making any sort of contingency plans should it ever happen and thus, he was caught completely off guard.

At first it was the just the whisperings in the hallway; the new 'it' couple had swept passed by a few gossipy girls, smiling fantastically and looking even better apparently. Then he had witnessed it for himself.

Lily sitting beside Alexei in class. Pecking him on the cheek every so often when the Professor wasn't looking. Spooning out mashed potatoes onto his plate for him at dinner. Simpering every time he told some old stupid joke or did some clichéd romantic act.

Him carrying her books. Opening doors and pulling out chairs for her benefit. Stopping at flower shops in Hogsmeade so frequently that the Heads dorm had become a veritable extra greenhouse at Hogwarts. And of course, he didn't miss the way Alexei's hands would slip from Lily's shoulders to her waist every time the pair passed the Marauders.

Yes, soon everybody knew they were a couple and if they didn't know it they must have been blind.

Lily and Alexei were the new Alice and Frank. There was talk of him whisking her off to some giant Russian castle after graduation; her being introduced to his aristocratic father, bowing gracefully before his mother adorned in some expensive French gown before the parents of the famous Alexei remarked on Lily's good bone structure.

James, of course, knew this was all idiotic speculation on behalf of the Hogwarts student population, which was only exacerbated by the amount of time Lily and Alexei spent in her dorm doing the obvious and depriving the anxious pupils of their legendary presence.

It was the most annoying, pointless and stupid event that he had ever witnessed at Hogwarts and his own irritation surrounding the matter seemed only to be topped by that of Severus Snape's. Indeed, James had his own suspicions that should the topic ever arise between the pair of them, it might be the only thing they agreed on.

Involuntarily, James's mind drifted onto the subject of Severus Snape as he dazedly observed Lily and Alexei laughing happily together. It was a very fortunate occurrence for Snape that James- with the possible exception of Remus- was the only student in the whole of Hogwarts to recognise how the Slytherin felt about Miss Evans.

After the infamous 'mudblood' incident in fifth year most people concluded that Snape felt nothing other for Lily than a small amount of friendship which thinly veiled a realm of contempt. But James knew better. Having once viewed his feelings for Lily as love, James set about obtaining the illustrious red head with all the cunning of a hunter and that meant observing his competition.

And after having watched Snape drool, stare, pine, lust and despair after Lily Evans for the better part of two years, James was well aware that the introverted student was quite desperately in love with his best friend. It was a sorry state of affairs, James would admit only to himself when no one was around. Despite his outward hatred for the Slytherin, when he really thought about how difficult it must be to harbour such an unrequited emotion for a completely oblivious girl, James felt nothing but pity for the boy. It was a burden identical to the one that he was hunched under; another thought he would only admit to the silence of his bedroom.

But clearly, whilst after a summer's break and the best part of six month, James had moved on from Lily-loving, Snivellous had not.

With interest and admittedly a gathering level of annoyance, James would observe how Severus's eyes still lingered on Lily when she ate; how he still grimaced every time she even glanced at another boy.

His faithful watch over Severus's obsession made it none the easier to believe Lily when she denied any romantic involvement between the two. James found it very unlikely that Snape would be so attached had there not been any sort of reciprocation of Lily's behalf.

"I thought you said she was a whore, Feddy," Sirius yelled abruptly as the couple passed, harshly jumping James from his reverie and forcing Remus to bury his head in his hands.

With a delicate smirk, Alexei pulled Lily closer, his grin widening when she buried her head into his neck doing something that made even the stoic Russian's cheeks blush slightly.

"First impressions," the exchange student replied easily with a soft shrug of his shoulders as Lily giggled into his ear, irritating James no end.

"Enjoying being a ball and chain then, are you Lily?" Sirius went on sarcastically, watching the pair with no attempt to conceal his distaste.

Rolling her eyes prettily, Lily swept her hair off of her shoulder before regarding the foursome through pitying eyes.

"Sometimes a girl just needs a gentleman to make her feel loved," she stated demurely, now rearranging Alexei's long blonde hair behind his ears lovingly.

Looking very much like he was going to vomit, Sirius crossed his arms clearly enjoying the scene as much as James was.

"You make a lovely couple," Remus commented as nicely as he could, although even James could tell that the observation was made in a strained manner; Remus was as fond of the Russian as the rest of them were but decency forced him to be polite.

"Amongst other things," Sirius said lowly, as Lily scoffed again and pulled Alexei off before he could answer.

"Gentleman," James spat as the pair wandered off, groping each other indecently. "Why is _he _a gentleman? Because he speaks with a Russian accent?"

"To be honest I find more gentlemanly qualities in a pair of Wormtail's socks," Sirius replied, his usual darkly comic self somewhat dampened by the encounter.

"She seems happy," Peter said dimly, as both Sirius and James heads snapped towards him.

"Happy?" Sirius practically screeched.

"As if!" James agreed, equally as fervent.

"She looks bloody miserable!"

"Constrained by that moron."

"Prat," Sirius muttered, as Peter recoiled, unsure of whether his friend was referring to Alexei or him.

"Happy!" James repeated grittily, rolling his eyes. "Lily's about as happy as I am right now. She just doesn't know it yet."

Following this statement, Remus let out a bark of laughter which caused Sirius to retaliate.

"He's right, Moony," Sirius defended vigorously. "Just wait and see. It'll be another two-three days tops and then she'll be bored of that twat," he added as James nodded in agreement. "She won't be able to keep her paws to herself."

"And I'm sure we're all waiting with breath that is bated for that fateful moment to come," Remus stated sardonically, picking up a book from his satchel and beginning to read.

"I know I am," James muttered meaningfully, as Sirius illustrated his concurrence by giving Remus the finger.

"Oh God," Sirius said suddenly as James once more followed his eye line to an even more disturbing sight.

Lily and Alexei had settled themselves underneath another nearby tree; Alexei choosing to lay his head down in Lily's lap- as her hands travelled not-so-subtly underneath his shirt and he closed his eyes to enjoy the attentions from the now off-limits beauty.

"Fucking hell, I don't think I can take much more of this," Sirius groaned, rubbing at his creased forehead.

"I don't know why the hell you're so put out," James interjected harshly, eyeing his best mate with disdain. "You're not the one who never got to shag her!"

Regarding him derisively, Sirius snorted.

"I'm 'put out' because it's not going to happen again for the foreseeable future," Sirius retorted grouchily, shoving James in the shoulder. "At least you don't have to mourn over something, knowing what you're missing!"

"At least you _have_ memories," James hissed, shoving Sirius back harshly.

The two boys glared at each other for a moment before they both lunged.

Piling together, the boys grappled with one another; Sirius immediately going for James's neck with his hands but missing as James ducked to head butt Sirius in the chest.

"Fucking twat," Sirius gritted angrily, sending a punch flying into James's stomach.

Not to be disheartened by the stomach shattering punch, James kicked as harshly as he could; out in all directions, hoping to hit and grimacing in success when he heard Sirius grunt.

Finally gaining the upper hand, James had Sirius pinioned against the grass as they both kicked and punched in all directions but were stopped by an unknowable force which unsurprisingly turned out to be Remus and his wand.

"Before we descend into madness," Remus commented dryly, delicately poising his wand so as both boys were frozen in the air.

"Bit late for that," Sirius added breathily, as James caught the beginnings of a small grin on his face.

Contagious as Sirius smirk usually was, James couldn't help but begin smiling after all of the exertion and general giddiness.

"Sorry about that," James put in steadily as Remus lowered them both to the ground.

"Not your fault," Sirius conceded happily, clapping James on the back. "This is what happens when I don't have sex with Lily for a week."

Laughing bleakly at Sirius's joke, James rubbed at his stomach, remembering unhappily the reason for the fight in the first place.

"You both just miss her," Remus refereed opportunistically, picking up his book again. "You have problems admitting that another man has her; for some reason both of you thought of Lily as 'yours'," he went on knowledgably, a small smirk decorating his mouth.

"I don't miss her," James said confidently, still rubbing at his wound. "I'm just pissed 'cause she ended the lessons before I was ready."

"Of course," Moony acknowledged bitterly. "This has nothing to do with how you feel about her."

Groaning, James stuffed his head into his hands.

"Merlin, not this again," he moaned, massaging his eyes. "You're never going to give up on this, are you?"

Shaking his head, Remus turned a page delicately as Sirius grinned stupidly at the pair of them.

"Right, well, if you're going to act like a moron, I'm going back to the dorm," James informed him in a huff, standing up and gathering his things. "I don't think I can deal with this conversation right now."

"Don't feel too bad, mate," Sirius called after him as James made his way towards the castle doors, not looking back at the group. "Go find Kerry Spencer! She was asking for you earlier."

Making a mental note of Sirius's advice, but unfortunately not as happy as his friend who clearly had been both exhilarated and relaxed by their fight, James continued on his journey until he entered the castle, relishing both the silence and the lack of anyone present.

The vivid light of the outside surroundings ensured that the inside of the castle was dark and gloomy, brightened only by the occasional stream of sunshine flowing in through the windows. The darkness suited James fine; he was in the mood to be by himself and not to be, as he had been several times this week, ambushed by several young, single girls in fifth year wondering what had happened with him and Lily.

Trudging up the stairs towards the Heads dorms, James skilfully dodged the presence of any other student and was starting to feel slightly more normal upon reaching his rooms; that was until he observed the lingering presence outside of them.

Severus Snape was standing beside the portrait hole, clenched fist poised as though ready to knock; James got the distinct impression that he had been standing there for a while.

"If you're looking for Lily, she's outside," James announced despondently as Snape swung round, clearly not expecting any company.

Nodding jerkily, Snape shuffled out of the way of the door, allowing James some space to pass.

Not anticipating any more conversation between the two of them, given the fractious nature of their acquaintance, James was just about to say the password, when Severus spoke up.

"Is she...with him?" he asked, so quietly that James almost didn't hear him.

Sighing, James spun on his heel, noticing with a pang of guilt the fairly dilapidated appearance of his enemy. He looked as if he hadn't slept in days.

"Yeah, she is," he replied as normally as he could manage, raising his eyebrows in his own obvious annoyance. "But I wouldn't go out there, if I were you," James went on just as it looked like Snape was headed to leave. "It's not a sight you'd welcome."

Contemplating this deeply, Snape eyed the stair case almost warily.

"What did you do?" he enquired finally, having decided upon not venturing outside.

"Sorry?" James attempted to clarify wearily, unusually not in the mood for a round against Snape this afternoon.

"What did you do? To push her towards him?" Snape pressed, still barely speaking above a whisper, as he regarded James closely. "Why is she with him?"

"What makes you think it's my fault?" the Gryffindor snapped back, thinking angrily that most people in the school probably assumed he'd fucked up, when in reality; it was all her decision.

"Obviously it was you," Severus responded dryly, standing like a giant statue in the midst of a stream of light. "She's never had a boyfriend before. Why would she just suddenly start now?"

Scoffing bitterly, James felt a familiar twitch in his fingers as he resisted the urge to reach for his wand. Despite his pity for Severus, there was just something about him that knew how to send James's anger reeling.

"I have no idea," James hissed pettily, resorting to kicking the wall to resist hexing the boy. "Are you sure it wasn't you, though? Usually when Lily's upset it's because you've fucked her off, Snivellous."

Rolling his eyes slowly, Snape swept himself towards the staircase as James was given the impression that he had decided on outside after all.

"Why don't you just leave her alone, Snape?" he called, unable to help himself as Severus stopped at the top of the steps. "Whatever the hell happened between you two is over now. So just-just leave her alone, okay? You'll both be happier that way."

"Happier?" Snape replied, his voice echoing around the hallway. "She's leaving you alone now. Do you feel happier?"

Unable to think of a reply that wouldn't contradict his previous statement, James dismissed the question.

"Why do you keep doing this to yourself?" he asked gently, inwardly marvelling at how much he'd grown mentally. "You obviously care about her, but it's ruining you. Why don't you try and forget about her...find someone else?"

Regarding him through narrowed eyes, Snape shrugged his shoulders, clearly unwilling to answer the question.

Sighing upon the realisation that he wasn't going to get a proper answer, James turned back towards the portrait hole.

"Let me tell you something, Potter," Snape put in, just as James murmured the password. "I'm not exactly sure what you did to annoy her...but you should know this. Once you're out; you're out," he went on as his serious words wove their way around James's consciousness. "And you'll spend the rest of your life trying to get back in."

"Then why don't you stop?" James replied maddeningly, downright refusing to acknowledge Snape's frightening comments.

"Why don't _you_?" he gritted back, his fists clenching and unclenching underneath his robes.

"I will," James defended confidently, ignoring the portrait's call for him to get in or stay out. "I will...once I have what I want."

A bark of laughter greeted his ears, as Severus shook his head slowly.

"You think once you sleep with her, you'll be free?" he retorted softly, looking at the floor. "You'll be even worse off than you were, Potter."

"Maybe _you_ were," the Head Boy suggested, carefully watching Severus for any signs of emotion. "I'm not like that. I'm not like you, Snape."

Another snort was his reply.

"Wait and see, Potter. Wait and see."

The boy then turned around once more, finally descending the staircase with a flourish of his robes as James entered the Heads Dorm.

"_Once you're out; you're out."_

Snape's words echoed throughout his head, slithering around his mind and forcing James to remember that what he needed was a plan.

"_You'll spend the rest of your life trying to get back in." _

Scoffing, James threw himself down onto the sofa.

He would get back in. And then Snape and that Russian could go and cry in a corner somewhere.

* * *

"You are very beautiful, you know."

The saccharine remark produced by the blonde Russian who's head was currently wedged between her shoulder and her neck cut Lily right out of her reverie, bringing her right back down to realise their current position on her dorm room bed.

"Hmmm..." she replied drearily, as Alexei's hands came up to stroke at her hair.

The smell of sex tainted the surrounding atmosphere whilst the ruffled sheets that the pair where tangled in felt sweaty and damp.

"I told you it would be worth the wait," Alexei remarked confidently, throwing his hands behind his head to lean on them.

"Mmmm..." Lily answered again, vaguely wondering if she should tell him that the sixth year she caught two weeks ago had done a better job of turning her on than he did.

"So, what time will you be back from patrols?" The Russian enquired, as Lily realised that unfortunately for her, Alexei wanted to talk.

She wasn't in the best of moods for dialogue, considering that she was still trying to get her head around the fact that for the first time in two years, she had had sex...and not come. It was the oddest occurrence she'd experienced yet.

Lily wasn't sure how to proceed.

Did she complain?

Demand Alexei to get going again and finish her off?

There was just no protocol for Lily. Christ, even Regulus Black had managed to entertain her.

She turned her head to the side, regarding the blonde boy who was waiting for her answer.

"Eh...around ten, I think?" she murmured, allowing her eyes to drift over his pretty brown eyes. It really wasn't fair, she noted internally. Something so pretty yet so...lacking.

Did she dump him?

As soon as the thought had entered her head, Lily forced it away.

No, dumping a boy for not entertaining you sexually was something bad girls did. And Lily was determined to be good.

After her argument with Severus a week ago, she was determined to prove to him that she could be in a committed relationship. According to her ex best friend, the reason for Lily's...promiscuous behaviour was because she still wasn't over her long forgotten companion.

Scoffing aloud, Lily remembered the idiotic look on his face as he'd accused her.

Stupid Bastard.

Lily was fine.

Fine and happy and in a committed relationship with a man who didn't know how to have sex.

Groaning, she rolled out of bed, grabbing the sheets to take with her.

"Can I see you after your patrol?" Alexei asked, his eyes following her as she moved.

Smiling weakly, Lily nodded gently, before throwing on her school skirt and shirt whilst moving towards her dresser, running a brush slowly through her tendrils.

"Who are you patrolling with?" the boy on the bed wondered, and Lily didn't miss the threat in his voice.

"James," she answered speedily, quickening the strokes of her brush.

She didn't hear Alexei answer but she heard his breathing quicken.

"Must it be him?"

Rolling her eyes, Lily stood.

"Yes, Alexei. I told you. James and I will still have to see each other," she responded condescendingly, not in the mood for this conversation again. "We're Head Students. There's no way around it."

Hearing him huff audibly, Lily made her way over to the bed, kneeling down beside her sulking lover.

"Listen," she said gently, running her fingers up and down his chest to get his attention. "I may be patrolling with James. But it's you I'm coming back to." Slowly, she pressed a kiss to his mouth and feeling him respond, she knew she was off the hook.

"Don't be long," he called as she exited the room, resisting the urge to tell him to shove off. This was why she avoided relationships.

And possibly also because men were always late, she noted finding the common room empty of her patrolling partner.

Waiting for a few moments, she was just about to head off on her own when James came barrelling down the steps from his room, still buttoning his shirt; hair slightly wet.

"Sorry...sorry," he said abruptly, running his hands through his hair. "Had Quidditch practise and I only just got showered."

Nodding slowly, Lily tried to keep her eyes off of him...unsuccessfully. Mutely, she observed his rumpled appearance; his shirt sticking to him in all the right places, wet tears dripping down from his hair and running along his neck.

Moaning silently, she wondered if it was because of her current frustrated state or if James had always looked this good.

"Something wrong?" he asked cheerily, giving her a quick smile.

"Eh...no," Lily said briefly, turning towards the portrait hole. "Just a little day-dreamy, that's all."

With that, the pair headed off on their patrol, moving out of the common room and down towards the dimly lit stairs of Hogwarts at night.

"So...," James began after a short while of awkward pauses. "How goes married bliss?"

Grimacing into her hair and hoping that he hadn't seen, Lily gave him a short shove.

"Shut up. You just want to make fun of me, Potter."

James's mouth fell open in a pantomime of mock indignation.

"Me? Make fun of you? Never!"

"You are a right twat sometimes, you know that?" Lily gritted harshly, mentally noting that she was only cranky because of the night's earlier events and really, taking it out on James wasn't the best way to solve her irritation.

"Lighten up, Evans," James responded readily, giving her a gentle shove. "You seem a bit tense tonight, if you don't mind me saying so, love."

Feeling her own jaw clench involuntarily, Lily regarded the seemingly uninterested boy out of the corner of her eyes.

Why was it when she wanted him to slam her against a wall and have his wicked way with her that he acted like a bloody priest?

"I'm fine, Potter," she answered testily as they rounded a corner towards the fifth floor. "You just aggravate me, is all."

"What a surprise," he breathed easily, a small skip in his step and Lily didn't miss the smirk on his face.

"Is there any particular reason that you are trying to annoy me tonight, James?" the Head Girl bit out as they maintained a steady pace down a long, dim corridor; Potter's grin widening irredeemably.

"Eh...old habits," Potter explained with another shrug of his shoulders. "Besides, no one else is going to make fun of you and your new 'relationship', so naturally the job falls to me."

"What? You want me to tell you that I'm unhappy?" Lily probed arrogantly, finally regaining her usual ground. "Miserable? Hideously disappointed?"

Regarding her expectantly, James gave a cocky raise of his eyebrows.

"Well, sorry," she continued generously, a fake yet convincing smile decorating her mouth. "That's not going to happen."

"Hmmm..." came James's voice, echoing down the hollowed hall.

"And if you think..." Lily began, feeling irretrievably more confident than she had at first, until she was cut off. By a strong pair of hands wrapping around her arms.

And her back hit the wall.

_Finally._

"I don't think you need to tell me anything, Lily," James murmured breathily into her neck. "Because I can see everything perfectly well for myself," he added gently, his hands moving downwards; fingers skimming over her thin blouse and pleated skirt, until finally they graced delicately over her bare thighs. "Someone didn't come tonight," he stated, as their eyes locked; Lily's mouth falling open in a mute attempt to defend.

"How...?" she tried to ask bleakly only to be cut off once more.

"It's all over you," James whispered, his fingers padding slowly across her skin, tracing their way upwards to the juncture between her legs. "The flushed cheeks, dazed eyes...the irritation. And then there's the evidence," he continued, as his hands reached their destination; her panties...which were soaked.

"Potter..." Lily tried warningly, desperately trying to get the next sentence out as his presence surrounded her.

Merlin, she had missed him.

His hands...his mouth...

Even with that thought she could feel a wanton heat pooling between her legs, blurring her thoughts and pulling her from her warning.

_Say the next sentence, Lily_, she repeated in her head as she felt James chuckle into her neck; no doubt at her heavy breathing and failing struggle to inhibit moans.

_Say the next sentence, Lily...tell him to stop. _

"Potter...I have a boyfriend," she managed finally, her voice coming out in a shaky whisper.

He laughed quietly against her ear.

"I have a girlfriend, Evans," he replied, his fingers slipping under her panties, as Lily felt her stomach contort in both pleasure and rage.

"What?" Lily hissed, forcing her eyes upwards to meet his, which were alight in victory. "Who?"

"Kerry Spencer," James explained, smirking down at her, his fingers stalled in their movements.

"Since when?" she spat, wondering if an unforgiveable would be taking it too far.

"Today," the Head Boy said, moving his head back towards her neck, ignoring Lily's expression of rage completely. "See," he went on quietly, his fingers slipping into her as Lily groaned loudly, her arms clinging to his shoulders; all anger forgotten. "We're both dirty rotten cheaters."

"_Ugh_," she moaned as he continued to flex his fingers deep inside her, her arms clinging to him with a greater pressure as she tried to think coherently.

_When had he gotten so good?_

"James, I..." she breathed, in a fruitless attempt to regain her mind.

"Stop fighting it," James replied forcefully, his arm slipping around her waist to foist her against the wall as her legs spread involuntarily.

"But I..." she tried again, her mind reeling as he pressed into her and his thumb went for her clit. Trembling, aching and feeling her body quiver with need, Lily gave in. "God, James, don't stop," she pressed, wrapping her arms around his neck as he bit at hers.

Masterfully, his thumb circled the pearl of her womanhood; pressing and probing into her slick heat. Slowly, she felt his fingers curl inside of her, searching deep inside of her for the key to her release.

"_Ah_..." Lily cried as her head tossed back and her body arched. "_There_," she pleaded, as his fingers graced over the hidden cavity that made her whole self weaken.

"Here?" he taunted cruelly, as his fingers pulled away from the spot, his thumb stalling on her clit, leaving her desolate and desperate.

"Please," she whimpered, her legs spreading further apart, hips jostling in a pleading attempt to get him to move again. "James...please."

Wholly in control, James secured her place against the wall before moving his lips to her ear; his hand still motionless within her.

"Break up with Alexei," he commanded powerfully, as Lily bemoaned the loss of her self control.

"Yes," she promised weakly, nipping and licking at his neck, obsessed with the thought of release. Release caused by him.

"Tonight," James pressed.

Nodding vigorously against his shoulder, Lily breathed in the scent of her freshly washed tormentor; an action that made her want him even more.

"Good."

She cried out as his fingers began to move again, languorously spreading her sheath so as the wetness dripped down her thighs, forcing her to acknowledge her complete submission to him.

Suddenly, the fingers curled and hit her spot...

Once...

Twice...

She was undone.

"James," she screamed, as the thick tension building inside of her released, fluttering down from her core and coating his fingers in searing warmth. Her breaths came in shudders as she contracted around his fingers, her head baying into his neck, her screams now murmurs as she felt the familiar after lull...but for the first time, she was clinging to someone else.

Lily Evans was clinging to James Potter.

"Lily," came James's deep voice, clearing all thoughts out of her head, and suddenly she could see only him and his hazel eyes.

She nodded to show she was listening.

"You're not a good girl," he stated boldly, his fingers slipping from her to drag along her inner thigh letting her feel her own release by his means. "You never will be. Stop trying, Evans."

She nodded again wearily, as his arm was removed from her waist and she was lowered gently to the floor.

"Lesson...this Thursday. Alright?" he told her more than asked, but she knew that they both knew she would agree.

She resisted the urge to tell him that she didn't think he needed them anymore.

He turned on his heel towards the end of the corridor, a swagger in place of his usual gait and she watched...until he paused in his movements, stalling against the dim light of the hallway.

Lily wondered what he was trying to decide.

"I've missed you," he said finally, after some deliberation, not turning to look at her as he spoke. She opened her mouth to speak but clearly, he wasn't in the mood to wait for an answer. Quickly, he picked up the pace again and moved into the light, leaving Lily to sink to the floor in a humiliating defeat.

She didn't know what had just happened...she didn't know how it had just happened, but she had a sneaking suspicion, that whatever this new ache was in her chest...it wasn't going away for a while.


	10. Remember when the boys were all electric

Ok, so the wait for this chapter has been incredibly long and I'm soooooo sorry for taking forever, but as a student I have finals and they've basically taken over my life! I can't promise that the next chapter will be any quicker in the process but I can promise that any free time I have will go towards this.

Also- the beginnings of the next chapter of A Lady's Imagination have been written- hopefully, it won't be too long before it's up.

On another note, thank you all so much for your lovely reviews; they really do mean a great deal to me and you've no idea how encouraging it is to get them even weeks after the chapter was posted.

Finally, after many years, I've figured out who my real life Marauders' are after a great deal of consideration; As James Potter we have Andrew Garfield- he was in a British TV drama a while ago called Red Riding which was set in the 1970s and he looked so unbelievably James I just couldn't get over it. Seriously- google image- it's ridiculous. For Sirius its got to be a mixture of Ben Barnes- who is as pretty as Sirius needs to be combined with a bit of Jim Morrison- who is definitely as bad ass as Sirius needs to be :D lol. And finally for Remus, Brian Dick- a British actor. I know he may be a controversial choice but he just screams Remus to me for some reason. No Peter as of yet. Either way, I just thought I'd share those recollections.

So, hope you all enjoy!

Thanks for reading and

**REVIEW!**

BGWSRS

* * *

It was exactly the type of sound James Potter liked to hear; the buzz of the Great Hall at breakfast after some momentous event had taken place. Usually it could be depended upon to arise on the morning of a Quidditch match or if there was a new student or more especially, if something in the world outside of Hogwarts was shocking enough to have reached the student body's ears.

But on the rare occasion, when the news was slow and the Quidditch on a break, the population of Hogwarts was known to buzz for an altogether different reason- an altogether more interesting and exciting reason than would normally arise in the day to day life of the castle; student gossip.

A small vibration was heard when Frank Longbottom and Alice Patterson _finally _got together after years of dancing around the inevitable.

A slightly louder and more disapproving hum echoed when Sirius was found to be dating both the Henderson sisters at the same time.

The loudest James had ever heard the buzz heighten to, was the morning when the news broke of Lily's dalliance with Regulus Black.

But this morning? This morning the Hall was practically pulsating with the news that Lily Evans had just broken up with the first boyfriend she had ever had.

James knew the reason for the added sensationalism; it was the unknown. Nobody knew why the couple had gone from all over each other to sitting at opposite sides of the Hall within the space of ten hours.

Well, nobody apart from James that was.

He had awoken particularly early for him- even more shockingly, he had awoken all by himself with no help from his alarm clock.

Deciding that he'd leave it til later to confront Lily about whether or not she'd followed through on her promise, James had continued downstairs for breakfast, intent on getting in a fly before Transfiguration. But before he'd even sat down to begin his vociferous attack upon the large plate of sausages stationed in the middle of the Gryffindor table; James knew that she'd kept her word.

Upon throwing the doors to the Great Hall open at approximately 7.30am, James was astounded to find that he was not the only person rising early that morning. To his far right, looking downright miserable, sat Alexei, stirring weakly at whatever milky looking substance he had before him. The boy hadn't even bothered to look up as James entered the room instead choosing to focus upon his breakfast which such intensity that James was surprised it hadn't caught fire.

Clearly, Lily had broken the news last night.

He had been about to continue on his way towards the sausages, when a slight crunching sound made him jump uncharacteristically. Looking to his far left, James almost smirked as he observed Severus Snape sitting solitarily at the Slytherin table, munching delicately at a piece of toast- his eyes- alight with a blaze of victory, firmly trained on Alexei.

James didn't know how Snape knew about the latest piece of gossip- unless Lily had told him- but he assumed that it was much more likely that Snape was always awake this early in the morning and had deciphered the whole thing for himself.

It was an odd trio they made, James mused as he trotted to his seat waiting for the moment when the other two boys in the room would notice his presence. There they were; her past sitting darkly to the left, her recently deceased present to the right and him- her future- right bang in the centre. That thought was responsible for the cocky grin courting his mouth when Snape and Alexei finally allowed themselves to acknowledge a third amongst them. For Snape, the intrusion proved to be nothing, as the boy merely flicked his eyes to James, watched him for a few seconds before then moving his gaze back to its original target and continuing with his toast.

Alexei, however, met James's gaze head on, his spoon now cast at the side of his bowl, his fists clenched in a weak attempt to appear strong. There was a brief moment when James wondered if he might hex him and the two of them would end up in a duel atop the Gryffindor table, providing enough entertainment for Snape to last a lifetime. James couldn't deny it; there would be a certain amount of pleasure in trouncing the arrogant prat after having forced his girlfriend to break up with him- it was the same sort of twisted, sweaty feeling he used to get in his gut when hexing Snape in front of a large crowd. But at the same time, it would be overkill. He had won- he'd gotten what he wanted- there was no need to humiliate the boy any more than necessary.

By the time he'd gotten around to thinking this mature thought, Alexei had clearly decided against a duel as well, instead tossing back his long hair and flouncing out of the hall, head held high.

And then there were two.

He wondered if Snape would bother to say anything with just the two of them in the hall, but the continuing gentle crunching sounds coming from behind him said otherwise.

Spooning his plate with scrambled eggs, James was just about to turn around for confirmation of Severus's presence when all of a sudden, another joined them.

He didn't have to check behind him to notice that Snape's eyes had spun towards the door equally as quickly as his own in the need to ensure that she knew they were there; Lily Evans had that affect on guys- especially the two currently sitting in the Great Hall.

It was a given; she would come and sit with James. He was at the right table- he was the _only_ person at the right table- and now, they were on friendly terms, unlike certain other people present at breakfast. For the first time, James felt ahead in the race between him and Snape. Sure, he mightn't have a clue in hell what history Lily and the Slytherin shared, but for once- it didn't matter.

He and Snape were in the hall at different tables, and Lily was choosing to sit with him.

Petty? Yes.

Immature? Undoubtedly.

Utterly fucking brilliant? Incredibly so.

"You're up early," he commented easily as Lily seated herself in front of him, pulling a plate towards her.

"I hadn't noticed," Lily replied dryly, giving him a small smirk as she began to load her plate with food.

"Any particular reason?" James asked knowingly, smiling when she gave him a look by way of reply. "Didn't sleep well, eh?" he continued in the same manner, grabbing a goblet and filling it with apple juice for her. "I slept _incredibly _well..."

"Are you going to be like this all day?" she asked good-naturedly, snatching the goblet from him and taking a swig.

"Like what?" the Head Boy enquired with feigned innocence, tucking into his breakfast yet never taking his eyes off his counterpart. "Aren't I allowed to be happy? It's a beautiful morning, my best subject first class..."

"And I broke up with Alexei," the read head interjected matter-of-factly, regarding him expectantly. Her wait proved short as he broke out into a grin.

"And Lily Evans is once more as she should be," James corrected happily.

"What? Single?" she enquired sarcastically, her eyes showing all the fire of Lily pre-Alexei.

Shrugging, James helped himself to another sausage.

Rolling her eyes, Lily continued to eat.

"You're not single," he said between chewing after a while, for some reason unable to take his eyes off of his plate.

"Sorry?" came in the incredulous reply. "Not single? Didn't I just break up with my boyfriend?"

Another shrug.

"Yeah...but you're still not single."

"Well I'm not in a relationship," Lily stated after a snort and James didn't even have to look up to know she was looking at him like he was crazy.

"Mmm...but you're taken," James suggested finally, setting down his knife and fork to look up at the red head.

"How am I...?"

"You just are," he confirmed, smiling as her expression changed from confusion to some sort of cute mix between wonderment and curiousness.

"And who," Lily began leaning forward onto her elbows, now grinning, "am I taken by, might I ask?"

"Well," James tried smoothly, "different people really. I suppose Sirius owns about ten percent...Marlene probably about fifteen..." he went on as her grin increased in size, "then there is maybe one person who can't be named who might have about five percent...possibly," he said knowingly prompting another rolling of her eyes, "then I guess your parents probably have twenty."

"Seems about right," Lily conceded, still smiling brilliantly at him. "But that still leaves fifty."

"Ah, well," he continued confidently, beginning to eat again, "that's mine."

"Oh, it is?" she challenged, her eyes wide with mirth.

"Yup," was the short but definite reply.

"I wasn't aware you were my majority shareholder," Lily mused, now moving back to her own breakfast. "But I suppose I should be happy. I got the better deal."

When James gave her a quizzical look, Lily merely swept her hair over her shoulder and batted her eyes at him.

"Well, you may own 50 percent of me...but I've at least seventy-five percent of you...if not more."

Opening his mouth to challenge to statement, James was cut off by a delicate finger pressed against his lips.

"Don't even try, Potter," came her low voice as he swallowed and inwardly conceded that maybe, she _might_ be right.

He was about to try a different vein of conversation- namely this week's lesson- before he was cut off once more, but this time by a different group joining the table.

"What are you doing up so early?" James asked the remaining Marauders, genuinely surprised to see them all wandering towards himself and Lily; Remus looking slightly less tired than the others perhaps.

"Moony's an asshole," was Sirius's gruff reply as he swung himself onto the bench and grabbed the bacon with manic force.

"I refuse to be late for Transfiguration again," Remus said simply, sitting beside Lily as she smiled at him sympathetically.

"So, I hear you're single again, Lily," Peter stated conversationally as Sirius's head perked up and James's brow furrowed.

"Planning on asking her out, Wormtail?" he quipped, only half-joking as Peter shrank back in his seat.

"Eh..."

"Wait a minute!" Sirius cut in, suddenly wide awake. "Since when? And how the fuck did Wormtail hear about this before I did?"

Shrugging, Peter smiled weakly.

"I heard some of the girls talking about it earlier..."

"We broke up last night," Lily added matter-of-factly, smiling at Sirius who seemed slightly quelled by her answer.

"Gay then?" Sirius probed as Lily laughed, shaking her head at him.

"Incorrigible, Black...bloody impossible, that's what you are," she exclaimed lovingly, passing him the eggs.

"All those things, and undoubtedly _right_ as well, Red," Sirius joked happily, taking the plate gratefully with a wink and a smirk.

The five of them continued to talk easily- Sirius elbowing Remus, Lily smirking at him- until the most responsible of them all dragged Sirius and Peter off to transfiguration ten minutes early and Lily went off to sit with her own friends and so James was left, listening to the buzz of the Great Hall echo around himself and Lily and knowing for once- things had worked out in his favour.

* * *

He was walking down stairs from his dorm room with a skip in step. She could hear him coming a mile off as he had been whistling the Hogwarts anthem the whole way down.

Positioning herself at the divide between the two staircases leading to their separate dorm rooms, Lily waited in silence for the moment when he appeared.

It all happened at once;

James's black hair appeared in front of her and in a swish of pink silk kimono and red hair she had him pinned against the divide; brown eyes widened and hand just about to reach for his wand.

"Evans!" he breathed, sounding only slightly annoyed; more perplexed than anything. "What the hell are you up to?"

"Trying to catch you off guard," she explained with a grin, pressing herself against him.

His eyes drifted downwards through the opening in her dressing gown to catch a glimpse of something light pink and lacy and the perplexity was replaced with understanding.

"It's Thursday," he said softly, his hands moving to her hips.

"That it is," Lily responded, moving her head to his neck to press a kiss there before she began dragging him towards her dorm room.

Finally reaching the room, she pressed him quickly against the door before resuming her assault on his neck.

She was pretty sure that he never wore any cologne but at the moment the smell of him was driving her out of her mind.

"I didn't bring anything," he said out of the blue, once again sounding out of breath as she grinned to know she hadn't lost her touch.

"Don't care," she mumbled against his neck, now dragging her lips down to meet his own and muffling whatever protest he was about to attempt.

"Lily, seriously," he said breaking off the contact, rubbing his hands up and down her sides, as she felt like pinning him once more. "That was the deal. I don't want you thinking that I'm trying to..."

Stepping back from him she pulled at the edge of the ties holding her kimono closed and allowed the garment to fall from her shoulders.

Seeing his eyes glaze over as his gaze drifted down over her light pink low dip corset ensemble made Lily's heart begin to hammer and she decided that it was perfectly fine to pounce again.

"Potter," she breathed against his ear, nipping lightly at the lobe whilst the boys hands stayed glued to his side. "I don't care if you've only gotten fifty percent of me...today you're getting the rest on loan," she said meaningfully, dragging her bare thigh in between his legs and upwards.

His eyes met hers and she smiled before moving to kiss him again.

Suddenly he was all hands; his lips against hers as he pulled her harshly against his body, his palms drifting downwards over the slope of her hips and towards her thighs. As she pulled him towards her bed, she moaned loudly as he bit down on her neck, the force of his teeth pulling at her neck encouraging her to slid him onto his back and straddle his hips.

"No instructions?" he breathed in her ear as she tried to pull off his shirt.

"Like you need them," she shot back, her movements successful as his chest came into view and Lily thanked Merlin she wasn't standing anymore.

Chuckling his hands went for the strings on her corset, pulling them apart greedily.

"Kerry will be so disappointed," James responded blithely, his hands still working as he pressed kisses up the column of her neck.

Lily stalled his hands in their movements, feeling all of the hairs stand up along her body.

"_You're still with her?_" she all but spat out, her stomach churning and she was pretty sure that if her eyes weren't already green they would be turning that colour any second.

James's eyes widened for a second before he quickly regained his composure.

"Eh...yeah," he answered truthfully, as he tried to begin working again but Lily insistently pressed his hands into the blankets.

"Why?" came her next fire, her whole face aflame as she tried to retain some self-control.

James shrugged which annoyed Lily more than anything else he had done before this.

"So, you like her?" Lily forged on, leaning back on her heels and wondering where in the hell this prissy bitch act was coming from.

A small smirk decorated his face as he regarded her through glittering eyes.

"Does it matter if I do?"

Biting down on the inside of her mouth, Lily tried not to pout.

"Why haven't you broken up with her," she gritted out, feeling the rage flare inside of her as he insisted upon grinning up at her like he'd won the lottery.

"Because I knew it would piss you off, Red," he finally responded, as his hands pulled her hips forward and he nudged at her neck once more. "And you have no idea how fucking sexy you look when you're mad."

"You're an asshole," she breathed, her skin tingling as he began tugging at her corset again and finally got it loose. His lips skimmed over her pale skin, his tongue darting out her and there to indulge in a lick.

Pushing him backwards so that he was on his back, Lily finally regained control.

"End it with her," she persisted into his ear, as his hands clasped onto her breasts and she groaned.

"Hmmm...maybe," James answered lowly.

She was about to rebut when his lips closed around her nipple.

Head thrown back in ecstasy as his lips worked the pert bud, her hands fisted the sheets and Lily held back a cry as his fingers slipped under panties and into her.

"Thinking of me?" he queried cockily, feeling her already soaked through and it took all of her strength not to nod; she had been.

"You wish," she lied anyways, deciding she could wait no longer. Her fingers fumbled with his belt buckle and then with his boxer shorts; she positioned the long shaft below her and in a swift movement that had them both groaning, slid downwards.

"_Fuck_," James hissed out, his hands grasping at her hips to pull them forwards and force them back attempting to find a rhythm that suited them both.

A high, keening sound left her lips as his tongue found her nipple again and his fingers sought out her clit. She thrust her hips forward and back, as his moans spurred her on.

Biting her lip to keep from crying his name, her back arched as his fingers and mouth continued to drive her towards her release and Lily could feel her legs spreading to wrap around his hips as her fingers clutched at the sheets beneath her.

...

Beneath her?

"Christ, Lil'" he ground out into her neck as her head swam.

How had he...?

All pleasure now gone from within her, the feeling of him on top of her made her throat constrict and her stomach jump with nausea.

"What the hell are you doing?" she hissed, feeling tears gather in the corner of her eyes as the memories of everything that had gone before.

"What's the matter?" James asked, sounding breathless as he pulled back to study her face. "You're enjoying it."

"Get off me," Lily said, shoving at his shoulders desperately, the feeling of entrapment making her break out in a sweat.

"What?"

"I said get the hell off of me!" she shrieked, finally succeeding in shoving him off as she dragged the sheets with her to wrap them around her bare body.

She faced the other way, trying to catch her breath and stem the tears daring to let loose from her eyes. She could hear his heavy breathing from the other side of the room.

"Lily...listen, I..."

"Get out now," she said with control, at least somewhat happy that she didn't sound like she was crying.

Hearing a sigh and then the door slam, Lily crumpled.

* * *

"Fucking hell."

"I know..."

"I...I..._fucking hell_!"

"_I know!_"

"They're not from you, are they?

"As if, Padfoot. What kind of moron do you think I am?"

"Sorry...it's just...I mean _who the hell...?_"

"I think it was more of a collective decision on behalf of the male population of Hogwarts," James informed the stunned Sirius, finally deciding to sit up and help his friend push some of the interfering flora out of the way.

Valentine's Day.

It was generally a holiday which James saw little to no point in; at best, it was an excuse to spend a little bit more money on a girl before eventually dragging her back upstairs to your room- that was it. He refused to see any romance in a holiday which- by way of purpose- forced people to spend money.

Not that he didn't enjoy it- girls were always a little bit easier around the V-day- and that included the female teachers who, for some reason or other, always gave them less homework when the date cropped up.

Unfortunately for James, whatever small amount of amusement he may have felt towards the holiday quickly evaporated when he had awoken that Saturday, traipsed sleepily down the stairs- fully ready to try and forget about Lily for the day- made his way over to the sofa and promptly tripped over at least three vases of bawdy pink carnations. Luckily for him, he just about managed to miss the fifty other vases of various assorted flowers that were stuffed into every nook and cranny of the room.

"Has the lady arisen yet?" Sirius queried, finally managing to reach the sofa.

"I doubt it," James replied moodily, feeling his nostrils prick unpleasantly from the infusion of scents. "If I thought she had, I would have vanished the whole lot of them already."

"Still fighting then?"

The look on James's face said it all.

"I told you it wouldn't work," Sirius replied smugly, the smirk on his face annoying James beyond belief.

"Thanks for that one, Padfoot," James answered dryly, batting a particularly persistent daisy out of his face.

"Listen Prongs, it's Valentine's Day..." Sirius began easily before James cut him off.

"I don't want to hear it, Black," he bit out irritably, finally giving in and pushing the whole damn vase over. "No advice about flowers or grovelling. None of it, alright?"

"But why not?" his friend asked in exasperation, shuffling around in his seat. "You said it yourself; girls are always easier this time of year. I'm sure that goes for Lily too. In fact I'm positive it does," he finished dirtily with a wicked grin on his face."

"Because I can't be bothered, Padfoot!" James moaned, stuffing his head in his hands. "I hate this stupid holiday and I can't be arsed trying to out-buy every other sodding moron in this place just to get back in her good books."

"Mate..."

"What?"

"It's your fault," Sirius said matter-of-factly, running a hand through his hair.

Feeling the pout form on his own face, James folded his arms and tried not to huff.

"I know," he consented finally with a sigh, mentally noting that _for once_ it was actually his fault. It wasn't that she had gotten mad unnecessarily like all the times before; he'd fucked up- big time.

"Just say you're sorry," Sirius advised before his eyes lightened in recognition and James didn't even have to turn around- he'd seen that look before.

"He can say 'sorry' til he drops dead, it's not going to work," Lily all but spat, descending the stairs from her dormitory before stopping to move some of the vases around via her wand.

"Would it help if I actually meant it?" James tried, not really sounding sincere but knowing inside that he actually was- despite this being his original plan all along.

"Nope," the red head replied succinctly, picking her way through the flowers, levitating a vase of purple orchids, another of white roses and finally a small bunch of lavender, daisies and peonies before vanishing the rest and sending them towards the table.

"Who are they from?" Sirius enquired sounding only slightly jealous as Lily made her way towards the table.

"No idea..." she sighed breezily, picking up the cards attached to the daisies and roses and flicking through them, "...but thank you for the orchids, darling," she finished without even looking at the card, blowing him an air kiss.

"Por nada, Mi Corazón," Sirius replied silkily as James felt his eyes roll involuntarily, "fancy thanking me, love?"

"And just how," Lily began lowly, moving towards the sofa before leaning down to come face to face with Sirius, "am I going to do that?"

"How about forgiving my best mate here," Sirius interjected suddenly, patting James on the shoulder heartily as Lily's eyes narrowed.

"Don't push it, Black," she almost growled, before backing away from him- her eyes briefly flicking to James's in a scowl.

Giving Sirius a grateful 'you tried' look, James swung himself off the sofa and into the no longer crowed space to move towards Lily.

"So, any plans..." he tried to ask suavely before she cut him off.

"I have a date, Potter," the girl responded from her place at the table, not looking up as she flicked through a book, refusing to acknowledge him.

"Oh right, so..."

"And it's not with Black," she answered once more cutting him off and guessing his question correctly.

"Yeah, about that," Sirius piped up, leaning over the back of the sofa. "Who are you going out with?"

"None of your business," Lily said quietly, her eyes scanning the pages although James didn't miss the small smirk decorating her mouth.

"Red, I demand to know who you are ditching me for!" the energetic boy continued, bouncing up on the sofa cushions.

Sighing, Lily put down the book.

"Max Coltrane," she said finally, giving Sirius a short smile whilst still completely ignoring James.

"Who?" Sirius asked, his question moving from Lily to James when the former gave no answer.

"Never heard of him," James responded with a shoulder shrug, pulling out a chair to sit down to Lily's immense displeasure.

"Pleased to meet you," came a new voice as James spun round only to be met with someone...at least eight inches shorter than him.

After staring at what was clearly a pre-adolescent third year male for at least ten minutes, James finally had the sense to shake the boy's hand before turning back to Lily; a look of incredulity plastered to his face.

"Him?" Sirius managed to question in disbelief before James did.

Giving them a gleaming smile, Lily stood up from her chair and dusted down her dress.

"You ready, babe?" Max asked, holding out his arm to Lily who didn't quite manage to reach it as she grabbed her bag.

The two stunned males watched the oddest couple of all make their way towards the portrait hole- Max finally wrapping his arm around Lily's waist- before standing in breathless silence when the door slammed shut.

"Him?" Sirius nearly screeched again as James did the only thing he could ever seem to do when it came to Lily Evans; shrugged and rolled his eyes.

* * *

"But don't you want to go to Madam Puddifoot's," Kerry whined, practically ripping his arm off as she hung off it; the two of them wandering bulkily through the streets of Hogsmead towards the Three Broomsticks.

Being that it was February, the snow was gone but the cold air still whipped around the streets making James glad that he had brought his scarf with him. He could not say the same for his other piece of cargo.

The choice was simple; get stuck listening to Sirius propound his theories about how women were actually harder to get with during Valentine's Day due to their 'expectations' or find Kerry, go to Hogsmead for an hour and hopefully get her back to Hogwarts and into his dorm room before eight o'clock.

Unfortunately, James had forgotten one thing; he absolutely detested Kerry Spencer. As good looking as she was, the girl was an absolute idiot- he was ninety percent sure that she had failed first year herbology five times straight and aside from the academic perspective, she only ever wanted to talk about one thing.

"Do you know if you push your hair off of your forehead, you look a lot like Tom," she cooed, taking it upon herself to push his hair backwards as she began on her favourite topic; Tom Harkins- seeker for the Montrose Magpies.

"Joy," James intoned dully, annoyed that he had been so absent minded as to forget that if he took Kerry Spencer out on a date for V-day then he was actually going to have to talk to her.

"Did you never think about playing Seeker?" she asked brightly, her iron grip on his arm starting to make it numb. "Tom says it's the only position that requires a huge amount of dexterity..."

Not bothering to stop to point to Kerry that her precious Tom was actually an idiot as all Quidditch positions required dexterity, James trudged forward to the door of the pub, thankful that if he had to listen to this bullshit for the next two hours, at least he could do it with a drink in his hand.

The pub was, unsurprisingly, full with normal and sane couples who didn't want to spend Valentines' Day suffocating from perfume in Puddifoots'. Making his way to one of the only free tables, James gave a quick nod to Alice and Frank who returned the gesture with shy waves.

Alice and Frank were undoubtedly one of those couples that were just meant to be together, James thought internally as he noted mentally somewhere that Kerry was still talking. They were just so comfortable around one another as though they'd always been that way. Well, given that they'd been together since fourth year- at times it seemed that way.

"So are you going to the Magpies game this weekend?" James bothered to ask, pulling the chair out for Kerry and hoping that maybe he could steer this conversation towards something redeemable.

A cackle of laughter greeted him from the petite brown-haired girl, as her eyes brightened oddly.

"Merlin, no!" she breathed, taking her seat. "I've never even seen them play!"

This was a new low for James.

"What?" he queried almost aggressively. "You've devoted your life to this guy and you've never even seen him _play_?"

"No," she laughed again, clearly not picking up on James's tone. "Quidditch is boring...it goes on for way too long and..."

"Excuse me," James cut in dully, standing up as he decided that the call for Firewhiskey could wait no longer.

Making his way towards the bar through a fairly sized crowd, his attention was drawn to one of the booths which was crowded with an unusual amount of third year males. Shifting his position to see more clearly, James felt his mouth twitch with a wry smirk when he observed Lily sitting amongst the crowd of boys filing her nails with an unwarranted amount of attention. Max was sitting beside her but may as well have been facing the other way as all of his attention was directed towards the obviously riveting game of exploding snap that he and the other boys were engaged in.

Now sporting a full smirk as he realised that Lily's date with Max had either been as a result of a dare or a bet on the younger's behalf, James felt his insides tickle with both the idiocy and sweetness of the situation.

Turning up with a seventh year girl who just happened to be the Head Girl and the hottest girl in school to boot garnered this boy some serious street credibility. However, being a third year the boy obviously had no idea what to do on a date and consequently had brought all his mates along in case he got bored. That and they needed to witness the event actually taking place.

Checking his watch, James noted that it was four in the afternoon- he had a few more hours at least. Sparing Kerry a quick glance as he dashed out of the pub he noticed that she had been joined by one of her equally idiotic mates and thanked Merlin that he'd managed to escape without anyone's notice.

Fishing the mirror out of his pocket, he held it up to his face.

"Sirius," he called into the glass as his best mates' face appeared instantly. "Get your ass to Hogsmead. I need your help."

* * *

As she stretched out the muscles in her lower and upper back, it occurred to Lily that she had been sitting in that booth in the Three Broomsticks for at least four hours- otherwise her back had just decided to seize up of its own accord.

Whenever she had agreed to go on a date with Max, she'd only done it because she thought at most it would be an hour and a half- just a quick appearance. Enough to make his friends sufficiently jealous before she could go back to her dorm and hope that one of the idiots who might have sent flowers had actually decided to send chocolates instead.

As she swung open the portrait hole and climbed through, she was hit with the overwhelming scent of flowers; perhaps a few bunches had arrived later in the day.

Yet as the common room came into view, Lily's eyes widened as they swam over the sight they saw; the fire was lit and crackling away pleasantly as was usual for eight o'clock in the evening however hovering overhead and all over the air in the room were long stem candles as if she was standing in the Great Hall.

The room was once again filled to the brim with vases of flowers except this time they were large bunches of light and dark pink roses covering every surface and cranny of the place she could spy.

And sitting in the middle of the room, just behind the couch was a small, dark wooden table laden with several plates of delicious looking food behind which lounged James Potter, drinking in her expression as if it was his birthday.

"Since neither of us has ever been much for Valentine's Day, I thought we both deserved a proper one for our last year at least," James said finally, his quiet yet knowing voice echoing about the atmospheric room.

"James...you didn't have to..." she began, trying to suppress the annoying yet unstoppable feelings of gratitude and astonishment that were stirring within her.

"Yeah, I know," the boy replied lackadaisically, standing up and sauntering over to her before taking her by the arm and leading her to her seat, "but I wanted to. Figured after watching that third year burn his finger tips five times in a row you deserved something a bit special," he continued, speaking into her neck as she sat.

Smiling softly, Lily eyed the food before her, drinking in the delicious scent as James poured her a glass of red wine.

"So, come on," her counterpart probed, pouring himself a glass before sitting down and smiling at her in a way that made her feel a bit like she wasn't able to eat anything at all, "what was it? Dare...bet?"

Smirking, Lily felt her head fall forward in a bashful gesture before she reached for the glass.

"I gather it was neither. He just wanted to impress his mates," she explained casually, as James nodded in understanding.

"I'd love to know how he went about it," James continued, picking up his cutlery and beginning to eat. "I know from experience that asking Lily Evans out is never an easy task; especially when you're in third year."

"Well, he strode up to me, one arm puffed out to his side as if he was holding an invisible sheep, the other ruffling his hair into a ridiculous mess," Lily stated meaningfully, as James grinned beautifully.

"Always a good start..." he interjected loudly.

"And then he stood there eyeing me for at least a few minutes, before yelling 'Oi, Evans! Go out with me!'" she finished with a glint in her eye as James dropped his fork.

"What...?"

"Oh, I only went out with him because he reminded me of you so much," she clarified, as a ghost of a smile drifted over James's face. "Wanted to see what it would've been like if I would have ever said yes to you."

Picking back up the utensil, James resumed his swagger.

"Please, I would've done much better than that," James scoffed, beginning to eat again.

"Oh really," she challenged, her stomach jumping as James lent forward to meet her. "And what would a date like James Potter have been like?"

"After three years of asking you out?" he responded quietly, brushing a piece of her hair behind her ear as her eyes drifted downwards involuntarily. "Something a bit like this, I suppose."

She wondered if three years ago, she would have hexed him for kissing her, as he was doing now. But the thought disappeared from her head quickly as she concentrated on the feeling of having him so near again.

"So, is this a date?" she whispered against his lips, kissing him again just for good measure.

"Hmm...yeah, why not," James answered easily, pulling back just long enough to kiss her nose as a smile broke out across her face against her will. "On a date with Lily Evans..." he said almost to himself, his eyes still scanning her smiling face, "well how about that."

As she pulled back to watch his glittering eyes, Lily suddenly felt an ominous tingle descend upon her stomach which wasn't helped by James's attempts to kiss her again.

From nowhere a rush of cold air descended about her shoulders as she felt him touch her again; unable to respond, a familiar sense of entrapment surrounded her- it felt like three years ago- and the need to get out of there, and away from him ignited within her once more.

Pulling back from his lips, she stood, quite ready to bolt towards her bedroom.

"Sorry, Potter, but unfortunately I have to..." she began shakily, brushing down her skirt and feeling as though she was going to be ill.

But James was too quick.

"Wait a minute," he cut in good-naturedly, standing up quickly and moving in front of her to block her exit, "I haven't given you your present yet, Evans."

"James, you didn't have to..."she said for the second time that evening, the motives behind the repetition quite different, as he took her right hand and she felt her body break out in a cold sweat.

"Today you reminded me why you're one the best people I know," James continued over her, pressing a velvet box into her open palm. "Even though we keep playing this game Lily," he went on as he opened the box, "it's important that you know how much you mean to me."

Taking the 'LE' pendant that was spelled out in diamonds, James placed it around her neck.

"Potter, why are you doing this?" she wondered aloud quietly, sounding far more ungrateful than she should, but there was a feeling in her gut saying that he had to be trying to trick her.

"I have no idea, Evans," he admitted wryly, his hands still about her neck. "But if I can't be nauseatingly romantic on Valentine's Day, then when can I be?"

Struggling to find an answer to his question, Lily felt her eyes dart about as her breathing quickened.

"Does it bother you?" he asked with half a grin.

She shrugged her shoulders.

"It feels like you're trying to trick me," Lily declared finally sounding like a stubborn child, as James smiled at her with raised eyebrows.

"Trick you?" James repeated, looking at her like she was an idiot, his thumbs rubbing circles just below her ears. "Evans, sit down and eat your damn dinner," he ordered with finality, pushing her back towards the seat as she conceded defeat. "This doesn't have to be a date if you don't want it to be," James added, somewhat guessing the source of her discomfort.

Bowing her head and feeling horrible after he'd been so nice to her, Lily toyed with the pendant about her neck as James took his seat and resumed eating.

They continued to eat, finally regaining the easiness with which the evening had started and which generally characterized their relationship. Somehow, James had managed to pick out all of her favourite foods including a desert of bread and butter pudding; a favourite she was nearly sure she had never told anyone about.

"A question," James said suddenly after he had finished eating and was now leant back in his chair. "What form does your boggart take?"

"That's an odd question," Lily responded with equal ease, her brow furrowed. "Why do you ask?"

"You were sick the day we did them," the Head Boy countered, sipping at his drink. "You'd never had one sick day before then or since," he went on, smirking knowingly at her as Lily sighed. "I figured you must have been hiding from something...and I always wanted to know what."

"That's because I came across a boggart at the start of third year, before that class," Lily explained, her mind drifting back to that empty classroom.

James's face urged her on for more information.

"You're not going to like the answer," she pressed harshly as James's expression faltered.

"I realise that," he replied quickly, although he took an inordinately big gulp of his wine. "Let me have it. What was it?" he continued when Lily said nothing. "Snape dead?"

She could tell there was only half a joke in his voice.

Swallowing, she shook her head.

"It was him with a dark mark on his arm," Lily answered finally, as both their eyes dropped.

"I suppose that makes sense," James ground out after a lengthy pause.

"I think it was my fear of losing him more than anything else," she went on quietly, remembering the hot sweat her body used to break out in every time she thought of Severus abandoning her. "It was third year when he really started to drift from me...and I couldn't face the thought of everyone in the room seeing that."

Nodding, James took another sip.

"What was yours?" Lily asked, desperate to move the conversation in a different direction.

"In third year, it was something stupid like the Slytherin Team holding the cup," James told her, the smile reappearing on his face and calming Lily immeasurably. "But I came across another one in fifth year and it was you making out with Snape," he said honestly, the smile still there but somehow appearing strained as Lily's stomach dropped. "_But_," he forged on before Lily could respond, "I came across another in sixth year and it was Sirius with the dark mark..."

All thoughts of Snape and her rushed out of her head as Lily's mouth fell open.

"It was particularly rough time back then with Sirius," James explained cryptically, his eyes glazed over in remembrance. "If you hadn't started hanging out with him I don't know what would've happened to him..."

He smiled at her then and Lily couldn't help but smile back.

"I did nothing," she insisted, putting her hand on top of his. "If he came back for anyone, it was for you."

Nodding a little, James looked a little happier.

"We make quite the partnership, eh Evans?" he joked as she felt a broad smile appear on her mouth.

"I'd say we run this place pretty well," Lily confirmed, the pair of them now grinning like idiots.

It was only three minutes later when she realised that they had been sitting there doing nothing but staring at one another as though transfixed , that Lily became conscious of the fact that she didn't care if he had been trying to trick her. Whatever he had done it had worked.

"You coming up?" she all but whispered, jerking her head towards her dorm room.

With a cocky grin, James shook his head.

"Sorry Evans," he rebutted softly, picking up her hand and pressing a kiss to the back of it. "If I did that I'd give you the impression I only did all this for a lesson."

"And you didn't," she said firmly, a warm feeling flooding her stomach and she wondered if it was trust.

"Nope," James affirmed, letting go of her hand. "If I want to get you into bed all I have to do is show up with Kerry on my arm."

Slapping his hand as she felt her cheeks flush, Lily gave him the evil eye.

"I really don't like her," she insisted quietly, the stubborn child back again.

James let out a bark of laughter.

"That makes two of us, love," he said wryly, standing up to stretch out his back.

"Night," she whispered, pressing a quick kiss to his lips before moving towards her bedroom, her fingers still toying with the pendant.

A thought hit her as she ascended the stairs and she turned back only to find the common room empty.

"James?" she called unsurely, hoping he hadn't made it into his room just yet.

"Evans?" he answered characteristically.

"This was a date," she said after a short pause, feeling her heart hammer against her chest and the pace of it increase when there was no reply. "James?" she called again.

"Glad you figured that out, woman," he replied, sounding contemplative, although she could tell he was smiling.

* * *

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